Systems and methods to apply values from stored value accounts to payment transactions

ABSTRACT

A system includes a transaction handler configured to communicate with a first issuer processor to maintain a balance of a stored value account, store an offer in association with the stored value account and a consumer account that is under control of a second issuer processor, detect in the consumer account a transaction satisfying requirements of the offer, apply at least a portion of the balance of the stored value account to the transaction, determine a reduced transaction amount for the transaction after applying at least the portion of the balance of the stored value account to the transaction, and communicate with the second issuer processor for an authorization response for the transaction of the reduced transaction amount in the consumer account.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Prov. U.S. Pat. App. Ser. No.61/682,180, filed Aug. 10, 2012 and entitled “Systems and Methods toApply Values from Stored Value Accounts to Payment Transactions,” theentire disclosure of which application is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

The present application relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/804,435, filed Mar. 14, 2013 and entitled “Systems and Methods toApply the Benefit of Offers via a Transaction Handler”, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/648,849, filed Oct. 10, 2012, assigned U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2013-0091000, and entitled “Systems and Methods to ProvideDiscount at Point of Sales Terminals,” and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2011/0125565, published May 26, 2011 and entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Multi-Channel Offer Redemption,” the disclosures of whichapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY

At least some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to theprocessing of payment transactions, such as payments made via creditcards, debit cards, prepaid cards, etc., and the redemption of thebenefits of offers, such as coupons, deals, discounts, rewards, etc.

BACKGROUND

Millions of transactions occur daily through the use of payment cards,such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, etc. Paymentprocessing systems, involving acquirer systems, issuer systems,transaction handlers to interconnect the acquirer systems and issuersystems, etc., have been developed to facilitate secure and efficientcommunications among parties involved in the payment transactions.

For example, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0271262, published Oct. 28,2009, discloses a first authorization request generated to include splitpayment data. After the first authorization request message is analyzedusing a server computer, a second authorization request message is sentto a first service provider, and a third authorization request messageis sent to a second service provider, to facilitate the split paymentaccording to the split payment data.

Offers, such as coupons, deals, discounts, rewards, etc., typicallyinvolve benefits that are provided to the recipients of the offers afterthe redemption requirements of the respective offers are satisfied. Atypical requirement involves the purchase of a product or servicerelevant to the corresponding offer.

Processing payments and offers using substantially separate systems havedrawbacks, such as inefficient use of computation resources for securitymeasures and processing, duplicative allocation of computation resourcesfor the separate systems, time delay from the time when redemptionrequirements of offers are satisfied and the completion of theprovisioning of the benefits of the offers, etc.

Some systems have been developed to at least partially integrate thepayment processing and the offer processing. For example, U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2011/0125565, published May 26, 2011, discloses a system toassociate an offer with an account of a user in a data warehouse, inwhich a transaction handler is configured to identify a paymenttransaction in the account for a purchase eligible for the redemption ofthe offer. If the payment transaction is identified, the transactionhandler provides the benefit of the offer to the account of the user viastatement credits. For example, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0112721,published Oct. 28, 2009, discloses a Value-Added Service Engineprogrammed to determine a benefit associated with a product afterreceiving transaction information identifying the product and aftercommunicating with a supplier of the product.

U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0312626, published Dec. 9, 2010, disclosesa transaction handler configured to receive an authorization request fora discount associated with an electronic coupon for a purchase. Theelectronic coupon has been received by the merchant to give the discounton a purchase by a consumer. The discount is to be debited from thesponsor account and credited to an account of the merchant.

U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0047019, published Feb. 24, 2011, disclosesa transaction handler configured to forward a coupon authorizationrequest message, identifying a sponsor account and a coupon, from amerchant's acquirer to a sponsor account's issuer, and when the couponis eligible, to forward the corresponding authorization response fromthe issuer to the acquirer.

U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0133351, published Jun. 5, 2008, disclosesa “Method and Apparatus for Reward Messaging, Discounting and Redemptionat the Point of Interaction,” in which, upon determining that thetransaction is eligible for a discount, the authorization requestmessage is updated to indicate that it is a discount transaction, andthis updated authorization request message is then forwarded to theissuer (or issuer processor) for authorization. When a promo code isused by the POS terminal or merchant system to apply or calculate adiscount amount at the point of interaction, the full transaction pricemay be authorized by the issuer, and full transaction price less thediscount amount is then cleared and settled between the acquirer and theissuer after the transaction. When a promo code is not used, theauthorization system forwards an authorization request message to theissuer for the purchase amount less the discount.

U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2007/0011044, published Jan. 11, 2007, disclosesa host system configured to transmit an authorization request to acredit provider. After discounts available for application to thetransaction are identified with the host system and from the identifierof a credit instrument, a modified transaction having a totaltransaction cost reduced by application of at least one of the separatediscounts is coordinated between the host system and the merchant.

The disclosures of the above discussed patent documents are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

The present application includes systems and methods configured tofurther improve the overall system performances, includinginteroperability, transaction integrity, efficiency in processingpayments in combination with offers, time delay in processing, resourceallocation, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which like referencesindicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system to provide services based on transactiondata according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates the generation of an aggregated spending profileaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a method to generate an aggregated spending profileaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a system to provide information based on transaction dataaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a transaction terminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an account identifying device according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a data processing system according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of account data for providing loyaltyprograms according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a system to obtain purchase details according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a system to automate the processing of offers in responseto purchases made in various channels according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 11-14 illustrate user interfaces for multi-channel offerredemption according to one embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a notification of offer redemption according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates a method for offer redemption according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 17-21 illustrate screen images of a user interface for offerredemption according to one embodiment.

FIG. 22 shows an example to send a mobile message when an offer is savedaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 23 shows a system to apply a discount offer via an authorizationrequest according to one embodiment.

FIG. 24 shows a system to apply a discount offer via an authorizationresponse according to one embodiment.

FIG. 25 shows a system to provide the benefit of an offer according toone embodiment.

FIG. 26 shows a method to provide the benefit of an offer according toone embodiment.

FIG. 27 shows a system to apply the benefit of an offer via atransaction handler according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28 shows a method to process a transaction according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 29 shows a system to process a transaction according to oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

In one embodiment, a transaction handler is configured to determinewhether a transaction in a payment account, as identified in anauthorization request, received from an acquirer processor for thetransaction, is eligible for the benefit of an offer associated with thepayment account, and if so, split the transaction originally requestedin the payment account into two or more transactions with an issuerprocessor of the payment account and one or more sponsor processors ofthe offer to apply the benefit of the offer to the authorization requestfor the transaction requested. The two or more transactions are combinedfor the transaction terminal of the merchant and/or the acquirerprocessor, such that the details of the two or more transactions areinsulated from the transaction terminal and/or the acquirer processor.Thus, a conventional transaction terminal and/or a conventional acquirerprocessor can be used in the system configured to apply the benefit ofan offer during the processing of a transaction initiated and completedat the transaction terminal. Further details and examples are providedin the section entitled “SPLIT TRANSACTION.”

In one embodiment, the transaction handler is configured to host offersassociated with the application of values from stored value accounts,such as prepaid card accounts or gift card accounts, towards paymenttransactions with merchants. In one embodiment, the stored valueaccounts are issued for transactions with the respective merchants butnot other merchants. Further details and examples are provided in thesection entitled “STORED VALUE ACCOUNTS.”

To facilitate offer redemption via the split-transaction technique asidentified above, data associating offers with account informationidentifying the consumer accounts or payment accounts of the users canbe stored in a data warehouse coupled with the transaction handler. Forexample, in one embodiment of associating offers with consumer/paymentaccounts, a portal of the transaction handler is configured to storedata representing offers, and to associate user selected offers with thefinancial accounts of the respective users, if the users selectadvertisements containing the offers. When the financial accounts areused to make payments processed by the transaction handler for purchasesthat satisfy the respective redemption conditions of the offers, thetransaction handler and/or the portal are configured to detect suchpayment transactions and fulfill the offers in an automated way, such asin the embodiment of the split-transaction identified above.

For example, the advertisement providing the offer can be configured tohave multiple selectable regions when the advertisement is presented ina web browser of a user. Examples of offers include discounts,incentives, rebates, coupons, rewards, cash back, etc. One of theselectable-regions contains a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of theadvertiser or merchant, which, when selected, directs the user to thewebsite of the advertiser or merchant. A separate one of the selectableregions contains a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the portal of thetransaction handler, which, when selected, directs the user to theportal for access to a user interface to register the offer with afinancial account of the user. Examples of financial accounts of usersinclude credit card accounts, debit card accounts, prepaid cardaccounts, bank accounts, etc. Some details and examples aboutassociating offers with financial accounts are provided in the sectionentitled “OFFER REDEMPTION.”

After the offer is associated with the financial account of the user,the transaction handler and/or the portal are configured to detect thatthe user is making a payment using the financial account for a purchasethat satisfies the redemption requirements of the offer. In response tothe detection, the portal may optionally notify the user of theeligibility of the redemption of the offer using a communicationreference associated with the financial account, and the transactionhandler and/or the portal are configured to automate the processing ofthe offer for redemption, such as using the split-payment embodimentidentified above, or via statement credits to the financial account ofthe user, or via benefits afforded via a loyalty program, such as rewardpoints, loyalty points, etc. Some details and examples about offerfulfillment operations are provided in the section entitled “OFFERREDEMPTION.”

When an offer is sponsored by the merchant, the transaction handler canbe configured in one embodiment to apply the benefit of the registeredoffer during the authorization and/or settlement of the transaction thatmeets the requirement for the redemption of the offer via modifying thetransaction amount. For example, the authorization amount can be changedby the transaction handler to provide the benefit of the registeredoffer during the authorization phase of the transaction in oneembodiment, and the settlement amount can be changed by the transactionhandler to provide the benefit of the registered offer during thesettlement phase of the transaction in another embodiment. Some detailsand examples about redeeming offer benefits via modifying transactionamounts are provided in the section entitled “APPLY OFFER.”

Since the transaction handler records the transaction data fortransactions made in various purchase channels, such as onlinemarketplaces, offline in retail stores, phone orders, etc., theregistered offer can be redeemed in an automated way, without beinglimited by the channel used to make the purchase and limited by thecontext of the purchase. Thus, the system provides a normalized,real-time, online and offline, redemption service for offers incombination with, and integrated with, the processing of paymenttransactions.

The transaction data, such as records of transactions made via creditaccounts, debit accounts, prepaid accounts, bank accounts, stored valueaccounts and the like, can be further processed to optionally provideinformation for various services, such as reporting, benchmarking,advertising, content or offer selection, customization, personalization,prioritization, etc. In one embodiment of improving privacy protections,users are required to enroll in a service program and provide consent toallow the system to use related transaction data and/or other data forthe related services, and the system is configured to provide theservices while protecting the privacy of the users in accordance withthe enrollment agreement and user consent.

For example, based on the transaction data, an advertising network inone embodiment is provided to present personalized or targetedadvertisements/offers on behalf of advertisers. A computing apparatusof, or associated with, the transaction handler uses the transactiondata and/or other data, such as account data, merchant data, searchdata, social networking data, web data, etc., to develop intelligenceinformation about individual customers, or certain types or groups ofcustomers. The intelligence information can be used to select, identify,generate, adjust, prioritize, and/or personalize advertisements/offersto the customers. The transaction handler may be further automated toprocess the advertisement fees charged to the advertisers, using theaccounts of the advertisers, in response to the advertising activities.

Split Transaction

FIG. 27 shows a system to apply the benefit of an offer (186) via thetransaction handler (103) according to one embodiment. In FIG. 27, afterthe transaction handler (103) (e.g., as in a payment processing systemillustrated in FIG. 4) receives an authorization request (168) from anacquirer processor (147) associated with the transaction terminal (105)of a merchant, the transaction handler (103) determines whether there isan offer (e.g., 186) that is applicable to the transaction requested bythe authorization request (168) in a payment account that is issued to auser and identified by account information provided in the authorizationrequest (168). If there is an offer (e.g., 186) that has a benefitapplicable to the transaction, the transaction handler (103) isconfigured to generate a plurality of authorization requests (e.g., 641,645) in accordance with the original authorization request (168)received from the acquirer processor (147) and the offer (186) stored inthe data warehouse (149), in association with the account information(142), as identified in the original authorization request (168). Theplurality of authorization requests (e.g., 641, 645) are generated byand transmitted from the transaction handler (103) for a plurality oftransactions, which, when combined, correspond to the originaltransaction requested by the authorization request (168) received fromthe acquirer processor (147). When the plurality of authorizationrequests (e.g., 641, 645) are approved, a message can be optionallytransmitted by a portal (143), coupled with the data warehouse (149)and/or the transaction handler (103), using the communication reference(611) stored in the data warehouse (149) in association with the accountinformation (142). The message is transmitted to a communication deviceof the user (101) to inform the user (101) of the benefit that isapplied to the transaction requested by the transaction terminal (105).When the plurality of authorization requests (e.g., 641, 645) areapproved, the transaction handler (103) provides a single authorizationresponse (138) responsive to the original authorization request (168) tothe acquirer processor (147). Thus, the details of the plurality oftransactions generated from the original authorization request (168) areshielded from the acquirer processors (147) and/or the transactionterminal (105), such that a conversional acquirer processor (147) and/ora conversional transaction terminal (105) can also be used in the systemfor the combined processing of payment transaction and benefitredemption. Thus, the interoperability of the combined payment and offerbenefit processing system is improved for existing infrastructure ofacquirer processors and/or transaction terminals.

In FIG. 27, the offer (186) is stored in the data warehouse (149) inassociation with the account information (142) of the payment account(e.g., consumer account (146) illustrated FIG. 4) of the user (e.g., 101illustrated in FIG. 1). The association of the offer (186) with theaccount information (142) allows the offer (186) to be applied totransactions while the transactions are being processed by thetransaction handler (103). Such an arrangement allows the reduction ofprocessing time delay between the time at which redemption requirementsof the offer (186) are satisfied and the time at which the benefit ofthe offer (186) is provided, and/or the time the redemption of thebenefit of the offer (186) is communicated to the respective user (e.g.,101).

In FIG. 27, since the transaction handler (103) processes the pluralityof transactions concurrently, via the transmission of the authorizationrequests (e.g., 641, 645) and the reception of the authorizationresponse (e.g., 643, 647) for the respective transactions, theprocessing time delay is further reduced.

Further, in FIG. 27, since the generation of the plurality oftransactions and combination of the plurality of transactions arearranged between the reception of the original authorization request(168) from the acquirer processor (147) and the transmission of therespective authorization response (138) back to the acquirer processor(147), the payment transaction and the benefit redemption andapplication would both be approved, or rejected as a whole. Thus, theintegrity of the combined transaction and benefit redemption isimproved.

In FIG. 27, the centralized processing of payment transaction and offerbenefit redemption allows improved computation resource allocation andimproved computation efficiency, when compared with implementations thatrequire separate systems for payment processing and offer redemption, orcompared with implementations that require add-on features in theacquirer processors and/or the transaction terminals.

In FIG. 27, in one embodiment of determining whether the originalauthorization request (168) has an applicable offer (e.g., 186), atrigger record (613) is used. A trigger record (e.g., 613) is configuredto identify a standardized set of requirements to be satisfied by theauthorization request (168) to trigger an action identified in thetrigger record (613). For the determination of whether the benefit ofthe offer (186) identified by the trigger record (613) is applicable tothe authorization request (168), the trigger record (613) for the offer(186) is generated to specify a subset of redemption requirements of theoffer (186), selected in accordance with the standardized setpredetermined for the trigger records, and the trigger record (613) forthe offer (186) further identifies an action to process the offer (186)if the requirements specified in the trigger record (613) are satisfied.

Since requirements used in the trigger records (613) are in thestandardized set, the operation of the transaction handler (103) indetermining whether an action requested in the trigger record (613) istriggered by the authorization request (168) can be optimized forperformance improvement, while supporting a variety of diverse servicescorresponding to actions that can be specified in trigger records (e.g.,613), such as the processing of the benefit redemptions of differentoffers that may have diverse redemption requirements. The use of thestandardized set of requirements for trigger records (613) can reduceand limit the performance impact on the transaction handler (103) inprocessing payment transactions, since not all requirements areinitially examined by the transaction handler (103) and thestandardization permits optimized operation efficiency.

In FIG. 27, the trigger record (613) is generated for the transactionhandler (103) to monitor transactions processed by the transactionhandler (103) for the detection of transactions relevant to the offer(186). The trigger record (613) includes a set of conditions to matchagainst transactions that are processed by the transaction handler(103). When the conditions specified in the trigger record (613) are notsatisfied by a transaction, the transaction is not relevant to the offer(186). When a transaction satisfies the conditions specified in thetrigger record (613), the trigger record (613) further identifies a taskto process the offer (186). The task includes determining whether allredemption requirements of the offer (186) have been met; and if so,providing the benefit of the offer (186) to the transaction, such as viathe generation of the multiple authorization requests (e.g., 641, 645)which, when combined, correspond to the original authorization request(168). Thus, the trigger record (613) allows the transaction handler(103) to trigger actions to process the offer (186) while reducing theburden on the transaction handler (103) in processing transactions notapplicable to the offer (186), thus improving the overall efficiency ofthe transaction handler (103) in processing transactions that may or maynot be relevant to offers (e.g., 186) in general.

The system illustrated in FIG. 27 allows a conventional transactionterminal (105) and/or a conventional acquirer processor (147) to be usedto initiate a conventional authorization request (168), while theredemption of the benefit of the offer (186) can still be applied to thetransaction when the redemption requirements are satisfied by thetransaction identified by the conventional authorization request (168).

Further, the system as illustrated in FIG. 27 allows the benefit of theoffer (186) to be applied to a transaction initiated at the transactionterminal (105) before the transaction is approved at the acquirerprocessor (147) and the transaction terminal (105).

In FIG. 27, the transaction terminal (105) initiates the transaction viatransmitting an authorization request (168) to the acquirer processor(147), which propagates the authorization request (168) to thetransaction handler (103). The transaction handler (103) is configuredto match the transaction against applicable trigger records (e.g., 613)to determine if a further action is to be triggered for the transactioncorresponding to the authorization request (168). Although FIG. 27illustrates the use of the trigger records (e.g., 613) to identifyapplicable offers (e.g., 186) for incoming authorization requests (e.g.,168), the transaction handler (103) may process the offers (186)directly in alternative implementations without the use of the triggerrecords (e.g., 613).

In FIG. 27, if the authorization request (168) satisfies the conditionsof the trigger record (613), the transaction handler (103) is configuredto process the offer (186) identified by the matching trigger record(613).

The offer (186) specifies a set of conditions, which, when satisfied,allow a benefit sponsored by the sponsor processor (649) to be appliedto the respective transaction. Thus, when the authorization request(168) satisfies the trigger record (613) generated for the offer (186),the transaction handler (103) and/or the portal (143) (or a separateprocessor coupled with the transaction handler (103)) is configured todetermine whether the entire set of the conditions of the offer (186) issatisfied for the award of the benefit to the respective transaction, inview of the authorization request (168) received from the acquirerprocessor (147).

If the benefit of the offer (186) is determined to be applicable to thetransaction corresponding to the authorization request (168), thetransaction handler (103) communicates an authorization request (645) tothe sponsor processor (649) for the authorization of an amount to beapplied to the transaction initiated on the transaction terminal (105),and separately communicates an authorization request (641) to the issuerprocessor (145) for the authorization of an amount from the consumeraccount (146) identified via the account information (142) submitted bythe transaction terminal (105) to initiate the respective transaction.

In one embodiment of the generation of the authorization requests (e.g.,641, 645), the transaction handler (103) (or the portal (143), or aseparate processor coupled with the transaction handler (103)) isconfigured to determine the transaction amounts for the authorizationrequests (645 and 641) based on the transaction amount requested in theauthorization request (168) received from the acquirer processor (147)and the benefit specified in the offer (186).

In FIG. 27, the transaction amount in the authorization request (645) tothe sponsor processor (649) corresponds to the benefit of the offer(186), which may be a fixed amount that is independent of thetransaction amount requested in the authorization request (168) receivedfrom the acquirer processor (147), or a predetermined percentage of thetransaction amount requested in the authorization request (168) receivedfrom the acquirer processor (147).

In FIG. 27, the transaction amount in the authorization request (641) tothe issue processor (145) corresponds to the difference between thetransaction amount requested in the authorization request (168) receivedfrom the acquirer processor (147) and the benefit of the offer (186)that corresponds to the transaction amount in the authorization request(645) to the sponsor processor (649).

Thus, the transaction handler (103) effectively splits the transactioncorresponding to the authorization request (168) received from theacquirer processor (147) into two transactions corresponding to theauthorization requests (641 and 645) to the issuer processor (145) andthe sponsor processor (649), respectively.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of an offer (186) that is sponsored by asponsor processor (649). The technique can be extended to the processingof an offer (186) that is sponsored by a plurality of sponsor processors(e.g., 649). The transaction handler (103) can be configured to splitthe transaction corresponding to the authorization request (168)received from the acquirer processor (147) into multiple transactionscorresponding to the authorization requests to the issuer processor(145) and the sponsor processors (e.g., 649) respectively.

In FIG. 27, the transaction handler (103) is configured to identify theissuer processor (145) based on the account information (142) identifiedin the authorization request (168) received from the acquirer processor(147), and to identify the sponsor processor (649) based on the offer(186) that is associated with the account information (142) andidentified via the trigger record (613).

In FIG. 27, after the transaction handler (103) receives theauthorization responses (647 and 643) from the sponsor processor (649)and the issuer processor (145), respectively, for the authorizationrequests (645 and 641), the transaction handler (103) is configured tocombine the authorization responses (647 and 643) received from thesponsor processor (649) and the issuer processor (145), respectively, togenerate an authorization response (138) to the acquirer processor(147), which further propagates the authorization response (138) to theacquirer processor (147) and the transaction terminal (105).

Since the authorization responses (647 and 643) are combined by thetransaction handler (103) to generate a single authorization response(138) for the acquirer processor (147), the implementation details ofthe application of the offer (186) are separate from the transactionterminal (105), and thus a conventional transaction terminal (105) canbe used to apply the benefit of the offer (186) to the eligibletransaction, without a need for modification in hardware and/orsoftware. The transaction terminal (105) submits the transactionauthorization request (168) and receives the authorization response(138), as if the transaction were processed using the consumer account(146), as identified by the account information (142), and as if thetransaction were processed without the involvement of the offer (186)and/or the sponsor processor (649).

The transaction terminal (105) of one embodiment has no informationabout the application of the benefit of the offer (186) to thetransaction initiated and approved on the transaction terminal (105).The transaction terminal (105) thus produces a receipt, which may beinterpreted to indicate that the entire transaction amount is funded bythe consumer account (146) identified by the account information (142).To inform the user (101) of the applicable benefit of the offer (186),the portal (143) is configured to generate and send a message to thepoint of interaction (107) (e.g., a mobile phone, a mobile computer, apersonal media player, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer,a digital wallet, a social networking site, an email inbox, etc.)identified by the communication reference (611) associated with theaccount information (142) of the user (101).

For example, a text message is transmitted in accordance with thecommunication reference (611) to a mobile phone of the user (101) toinform the user (101) of the application of the benefit of the offer(186) to the transaction initiated and approved on the transactionterminal (105). Alternatively or in combination, the notification aboutthe awarded/redeemed benefit of the offer (186) can be transmitted viaan email message, a web-based message, a voice message, etc.

The portal (143) of one embodiment is configured to transmit thenotification message about the award/redemption of the benefit of theoffer (186) in response to the authorization responses (641 and 645)from the issuer processor (145) and the sponsor processor (649), priorto or in parallel with the transmission of the authorization response(138) to the acquirer processor (147). Thus, the transmission of thenotification is substantially concurrent with the propagation of theauthorization of the transaction to the transaction terminal (105). As aresult, the delay to the user reception of the notification is reduced.

The transaction handler (103) is configured in one embodiment to furthersettle the transactions corresponding to the authorization responses(643 and 647) from the issuer processor (145) and the sponsor processor(649) to effectively complete the transaction corresponding to theauthorization response (138) to the acquirer processor (147).

FIG. 27 illustrates the use of a sponsor processor (649) to apply thebenefit of the offer (186). In general, a plurality of sponsorprocessors (e.g., 649) can be used when the offer (186) is sponsored bya plurality of entities. In some examples of the offers (186), thesponsor processor (649) may be the same as the issuer processor (145)(e.g., when the benefit is sponsored by the issuer). In some examples,the sponsor processor (649) is connected to a computing system of themerchant (e.g., when the benefit is sponsored by the merchant).

FIG. 27 illustrates an embodiment in which the transaction handler(103), interconnecting acquirer processors (e.g., 147) and issuerprocessors (e.g., 145) in a payment communications network, isconfigured to split the authorization requests in view of applicableoffers and combine corresponding authorization responses generated fromsplitting operations; the technique can be extended to implementing suchoperations on other components on a payment communications network, suchas a payment processor interconnecting transaction terminals andacquirer processors and/or transaction handlers of different paymentcommunications networks, an acquirer processor interconnectingtransaction terminals and transaction handlers of different paymentcommunications networks, etc.

FIG. 28 shows a method to process a transaction according to oneembodiment. For example, the method as shown in FIG. 28 can beimplemented in the system shown in FIG. 27, or modified systems asdiscussed above.

In FIG. 28, a computing device is configured to store (651) dataassociating an offer (186), sponsored by a sponsor account administratedby a sponsor processor (649), with a consumer account (146) that isunder control of an issuer processor (145) and associated with acommunication reference (611). The offer (186) may be sponsored by morethan one sponsor account administrated by more than one sponsorprocessor connected in a payment communications network interconnectedby a transaction handler (e.g., 103).

In FIG. 28, after the computing device receives (653) an authorizationrequest (168) for a first transaction amount in the consumer account(146) from an acquirer processor (147), the computing device determines(655) whether the offer (186) is applicable to the first transactionamount, and if not, communicates (659) with the issuer processor (145)to obtain an authorization response (643) for the first transactionamount without contacting the sponsor processor (649).

If the offer (186) is applicable (655) to the first transaction amount,the computing device is configured to determine (657) a secondtransaction amount applicable to the consumer account (146) according tothe offer (186) and the first transaction amount, and determine (671) athird transaction amount applicable to a sponsor account according tothe offer (186). The computing device communicates (673) with thesponsor processor (649) to obtain an authorization response (647) forthe third transaction amount, and communicates (659) with the issuerprocessor (145) to obtain an authorization response (643) for the secondtransaction amount.

If the computing device determines (661) that the offer (186) isapplicable to the authorization request (168) received from the acquirerprocessor (147), the computing device is configured to combine (663) theresponses (641 and 647) from the issuer processor (145) and the sponsorprocessor (649) to generate the authorization response (138) to theacquirer processor (147), and transmit (669) a notification about thebenefit of the second transaction amount afforded by the offer (186),using the communication reference (611).

If the computing device determines (661) that the offer (186) is notapplicable to the authorization request (168) received from the acquirerprocessor (147), the computing device is configured to generate (665)the authorization response (138) based on the authorization response(643) from the issuer processor (145).

The computing device communicates (667) the authorization response (138)for the first transaction amount to the acquirer processor (147), as aresponse to the authorization request (168) received from the acquirerprocessor (147).

Since the transaction terminal (105) is arranged to process thetransactions that may or may not involve the redemption of the benefitof the offers (e.g., 186) in a conventional way, the system can be usedwith conventional transaction terminals (e.g., 105) withoutmodification.

Preferably, the authorization requests (e.g., 168, 641, 645) and theauthorization responses (e.g., 138, 643, 647) are in accordance withexisting standards, and thus the system can be used with existingacquirer processors (e.g., 147) and issuer processors (e.g., 145)without modifications.

The computing device of one embodiment includes at least one of: thedata warehouse (149), the transaction handler (103), and the portal(143). For example, the warehouse (149) is configured to store dataassociating the offer (186), the account information (142), and thecommunication reference (611), as illustrated in FIG. 27; thetransaction handler (103) is configured to detect the authorizationrequest (168) that has a corresponding applicable offer (186), to splitthe authorization request (168) to generate multiple authorizationrequests (641, 645), and combine respective authorization responses(643, 647); and the portal (143) is configured to transmit anotification of the application of the benefit of the offer (186) to apoint of interaction (107) identified by the communication reference(611) after the respective authorization responses (643, 647) arereceived.

The computing device can be implemented using one or more dataprocessing systems as illustrated in FIG. 7, having at least onemicroprocessor (173) and memory (167) storing instructions configured toinstruct the at least one microprocessor (173) to perform operationsdiscussed above.

In one embodiment, the computing apparatus is configured, at least inpart via instructions, to: receive an authorization request (e.g., 168)identifying a transaction of a first amount in an account (e.g., 146) ofa user (e.g., 101); and determine, based on data (e.g., 186 and 142)stored to associate an offer with the account, whether a benefit of theoffer (e.g., 186) is applicable to the transaction. In response to adetermination that the benefit of the offer is applicable to thetransaction, the computing apparatus is further configured to:communicate with a sponsor processor (e.g., 649) of the benefit forauthorization of the benefit of a second amount; communicate with anissuer processor (e.g., 145) of the account for authorization to a thirdamount determined from a difference between the first amount and thesecond amount; and generate a third authorization response (e.g., 138)for the authorization request based on a first authorization response(e.g., 647) for the second amount from the sponsor processor (e.g., 649)and a second authorization response (e.g., 643) for the third amountfrom the issuer processor (e.g., 145).

The authorization request (e.g., 168) may be received from an acquirerprocessor (e.g., 147) and the authorization response (e.g., 138)transmitted to the acquirer processor (e.g., 147) as a response to theauthorization request (e.g., 168), where the authorization request(e.g., 168) identifies the account (e.g., 146) as a single source ofpayment for the transaction.

If the authorization request (168) is referred to as a thirdauthorization request, in communicating with the sponsor processor (649)the computing apparatus is configured in one embodiment to transmit tothe sponsor processor (649) a first authorization request (645)identifying the benefit and receive the first authorization response(647); and in communicating with the issuer processor (145) thecomputing apparatus is configured to transmit to the issuer processor(145) a second authorization request (641) identifying a secondtransaction amount in the account and receive the second authorizationresponse (643).

If the third authorization request (168) identifies a third transactionamount in the account, the computing apparatus is configured in oneembodiment to determine the second transaction amount by reducing thethird transaction amount according to the benefit of the offer.

In one embodiment, the third authorization response (138) is generatedto approve the transaction, if the first authorization response (647)approves the benefit and the second authorization response (643)approves the second transaction amount in the account; and the thirdauthorization response (138) is generated to reject the transaction, ifthe first authorization response (647) rejects the benefit or the secondauthorization response (643) rejects the second transaction amount inthe account.

When the benefit of the offer (186) of one embodiment is controlled bymultiple sponsor processors, in response to the determination that thebenefit of the offer is applicable to the transaction, the computingapparatus is configured to communicate with a further sponsor processorfor authorization of a further benefit of the offer, in addition tocommunication with the sponsor processor (649); and the thirdauthorization response (138) is generated based on a furtherauthorization response from the further sponsor processor, the firstauthorization response (647), and the second authorization response(643).

The computing apparatus may optionally store a trigger record (613)identifying a first set of requirements and the offer for enhancedperformance. When the trigger record (613) is used, the determining ofwhether the benefit of the offer is applicable to the transaction mayinclude: determining whether the transaction satisfies the first set ofrequirements specified in the trigger record (613), and in response to adetermination that the transaction satisfies the first set ofrequirements, identifying the offer based on the trigger record anddetermining whether a second set of requirements of the offer (186) aresatisfied to qualify the transaction for the benefit.

The computing apparatus is configured in one embodiment to communicatewith the sponsor processor and the issuer processor concurrently.

The computing apparatus can further store data (e.g., 611, 142)associating a communication reference with the account of the user, andtransmit a notification about application of the benefit to thetransaction concurrently with transmitting the third authorizationresponse (138).

In one embodiment, a transaction amount approved in the thirdauthorization response (138) is equal to the sum of a transaction amountapproved in the first authorization response (647) and a transactionamount approved in the second authorization response (643).

For example, the computing apparatus includes a transaction handler(103) in a payment communications network interconnected by thetransaction handler; and the computing apparatus uses the transactionhandler (103) to communicate with the sponsor processor (649) and theissuer processor (145) using on the payment communications network.

In one embodiment, the computing apparatus includes a portal (143) totransmit a notification of a reduction in transaction amount in theaccount, reduced in accordance with the offer (186), to the user at acommunication reference (611) associated with the account information(142) of the user (101). When the authorization request (168) isreceived from an acquirer processor (147), the notification can betransmitted in parallel with transmission of the third authorizationresponse (138) to the acquirer processor (168).

In one embodiment, to determine whether the benefit of the offer (186)is applicable to the transaction, the computing apparatus is configuredto: store a trigger record (613) identifying the offer (186) and aportion of requirements of the offer (186) to be satisfied by thetransaction to qualify for a benefit of the offer; identifying thetransaction based on matching the transaction with the portion ofrequirements; and after the transaction and the offer are identified viamatching the trigger record with transactions, determining whether thetransaction satisfies the requirements for awarding the benefit of theoffer (186).

The computing apparatus has at least one processor and memory storinginstructions configured to instruct the at least one processor toperform operations. For example, the computing apparatus of oneembodiment includes a data warehouse (149) configured to store firstdata associating a communication reference (611) with an account (146)of a user and second data associating an offer (186) with the account(146) identified by the account information (142). The second data mayinclude a trigger record (613) identifying the offer (186) and a firstset of conditions that requires a transaction in the account to besatisfied. The offer (186) has a benefit applicable to a transactionsatisfying a second set of conditions that includes the first set. Thecomputing apparatus further includes a transaction handler (103)configured to process payment transactions to detect an authorizationrequest (168) for a first transaction when the first transactionsatisfies the first set of conditions specified in the trigger record(613). After the authorization request is detected, the computingapparatus identifies the offer (186) based on the trigger record (613)matching the first transaction and determines whether the second set ofconditions is satisfied in view of the first transaction. If the secondset of conditions is satisfied, the transaction handler is configured tocommunicate with a sponsor processor (649) of the benefit forauthorization of the benefit, communicate with an issuer processor (145)of the account for authorization in the account, and generate a thirdauthorization response (138) for the authorization request (168) basedon a first authorization response (647) from the sponsor processor (649)and a second authorization response (643) from the issuer processor(145). The computing apparatus further includes a portal (143)configured to transmit a notification to the communication reference(611) about application of the offer to the first transaction,concurrently with transmission of the third authorization response(138).

In one embodiment, the notification is transmitted to the communicationreference when the third authorization response (138) approves the firsttransaction; and the transaction handler (103) is configured toconcurrently transmit the first authorization request (645) and thesecond authorization request (641).

The computing device can be further implemented, optionally, to performother operations discussed below, such as the operations discussed inthe section entitled “TRANSACTION DATA BASED SERVICES.” Some of thehardware arrangements are discussed in the sections entitled“CENTRALIZED DATA WAREHOUSE” and “HARDWARE.”

For example, the transaction handler (103) discussed above can be usedto record transaction data (109) to provide transaction data basedservices as illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed in the section entitled“TRANSACTION DATA BASED SERVICES”.

Stored Value Accounts

In one embodiment, an issuer processor operates a network of closed loopgift cards programs, including gift cards from merchants such as Macy's,Applebee's and others. The issuer processor provides a digital walletvia a website and/or a mobile application. The digital wallet allows aconsumer to enter in various gift cards from different merchants soconsumers don't have to carry around the cards. The issuer processorand/or the digital wallet are configured to look up the balances of thegift cards added to the digital wallet.

In one embodiment, the closed loop network of the issuer processor istapped into and combined with the offers and redemption capabilitiesdisclosed in various sections of the present disclosure to provideconsumers with more options in redeeming their gift cards, make iteasier to ensure they always have the cards available for redemption anduse every last penny and increase transaction volume presumably.

In one embodiment, the issuer processor is relied upon for theredemption capability; and the data warehouse of the transaction handler(103) does not have to maintain the card balances of the prepaid cards,gift cards, etc., associated with the issuer processor. In oneembodiment, there are no primary “linked” consumer accounts forredemption. The portal of the transaction handler (103) is configured touse the information about the transactions and customer segmentationinformation derived from the transactions in the enrolled cards toprovide timely offers in conjunction with outstanding gift cards. In oneembodiment, the offers may be configured to encourage the use of theconsumer accounts of the respective users via minimum spend thresholdsconfigured to encourage consumers to spend more than the balance on thegift cards. The user (101) may add the consumer account (146) to thedigital wallet provided by the issuer processor operating the gift cardnetwork, to receive offers, which may include additional benefits, suchas merchant discounts, loyalty rewards, cashback, etc.

In one embodiment, when an enrolled user adds a new gift card to theirdigital wallet, the issuer processor is configured to communicate withthe portal (143) of the transaction handler (103) to activate amerchant's event for the respective user, such that the portal (143) isaware of the interest of the user in the merchant. Based on the merchantevent, offers are provided to the user while the user is on the go. Theoffers can be provided into the issuer processor digital wallet or viaanother communication channel. The offers can be further based upon thesegmentation of users in accordance with spending behaviors reflected inthe transaction data of the consumer accounts added to the digitalwallets of the respective users. In one embodiment, the offers encouragethe user to visit merchants to use their gift card remaining balancesand receive special deals when they use their other enrolled consumeraccount (146). In one embodiment, the redemption of the offer can eitherbe through discounts at the transaction terminal discussed in varioussections of the present disclosure, or through the use of promotionalcodes for redemption at the point of sale. After the user transacts withthe merchant using the gift card or prepaid card (e.g., via swiping thegift card or using the gift card through the digital wallet), thepromotional code offers can be taken advantage. The balance of thepurchase is paid via a second transaction in the consumer account (146),which may be separately presented via a separate account identificationdevice, or the digital wallet. Automated offer redemption techniques canbe used when the consumer account (146) linked to the offer is used topay for the balance of the purchase.

In one embodiment, a private label account issued by the issuerprocessor of the digital wallet is configured as a primary linkedaccount for the cards in the digital wallet. In one embodiment, theprivate label account does not carry a balance or have funds of its own.It is configured as a universal gift/prepaid card for accessing thebalances of other cards/accounts in the wallet. The user can add, orlink, a consumer account (146) to the digital wallet. If the user usesthe private label card or the digital wallet at the transactionterminal, the issuer processor corresponding to the consumer account(146) is requested to provide a partial authorization for the differencebetween the balance on the applicable gift card and the purchase.

For example, when an enrolled user adds a new gift card to their digitalwallet, the issuer processor corresponding to the digital walletcommunicates with the portal of the transaction handler (103) toactivate a merchant's event for that user, to inform the portal of theuser's interested in that merchant. Based on the merchant's event,offers are provided to the user into the issuer processor digital walletor via another communication channel. The offers may be further based onthe segmentation of users based on the transaction data of the users. Inone embodiment, the offers encourage the user to visit merchants to usetheir gift card remaining balances and receive special deals when theyuse the private label account. If the user uses the private labelaccount (e.g., via the digital wallet or a separate accountidentification device) at the transaction terminal, the issuer processorcorresponding to the digital wallet look up the linked gift cardbalances for that user at that merchant using the private label accountand merchant identification in the authorization request. Promotionalcode based offers can be processed via POS discounts. The transactionhandler (103) communicates with the issuer processor of the consumeraccount (146) for the authorization of an amount equaling the totalticket less the balance available on the applicable gift card, if thetotal ticket amount for the purchase is more than the balance availableon the applicable gift card.

For example, in one embodiment, an offer provides a $10 discount if theuser spends $100 or more when the user has a $50 balance on a gift cardat the merchant. When the private label account is used to initiate thetransaction, the transaction handler (103) or the transaction terminalreduces the transaction to $90. The issuer processor of the privatelabel account looks up the $50 balance and returns partial authorizationapproval based on the gift card at the merchant. The transactionterminal requests for a payment for the remaining balance of thepurchase. The user may use the consumer account (146) to pay for theremaining balance of the purchase.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured toprovide the redemption capability; and the data warehouse of thetransaction handler (103) is configured to store the balances of theindividual cards associated with the issuer processor. Any accounts tobe processed by the transaction handler (103) during the authorizationof transactions in the respective accounts (e.g., credit, debit orprepaid card) can be used as a linked card. This arrangement allowsusers to use their normal top of wallet card as they do at mostretailers, ensures optimal data access for optimal segmentation,provides most relevant offer delivery, and encourages the most use ofthe digital wallet. In one embodiment, after the user links the consumeraccount with one or more gift/prepaid cards, the issuer processor of thegift/prepaid cards is configured to make the normal gift cardinoperable, as if it had a balance of $0 if the user swiped it via thenormal gift card process (e.g., without involving the transactionhandler (103)). In one embodiment, the use of the gift/prepaid cards areprocessed via the transaction handler (103) to be the single master ofthe balance after its added to digital wallet. Alternatively, the issuerprocessor and the transaction handler (103) are configured tocommunicate with each other to maintain accurate balance information,while allowing the user to use the gift/prepaid cards in ways withoutinvolving the transaction handler (103), and through the linked consumeraccounts (e.g., 146).

In one embodiment, the data warehouse of the transaction handler (103)is configured to receive balances of the gift/prepaid cards atrespective merchants from the issuer processor, when respective cardsare added to the digital wallets provided by the issuer processor. Thedata warehouse of the transaction handler (103) is configured as asingle master of the card balances. The data warehouse also maintainsthe cross references between the gift/prepaid card balances and theconsumer account (146) of the user (101).

In one embodiment, when an enrolled user adds a new gift/prepaid card tothe digital wallet of the issuer processor, the issuer processor isconfigured to send that the gift/prepaid card balance and merchantinformation to the portal of the transaction handler (103). In oneembodiment, the gift/prepaid card is limited to be used at one or morepredetermined merchants; and the merchant information identifies the setof one or more predetermined merchants associated with the gift/prepaidcard.

In one embodiment, after the balance is provided to the transactionhandler (103), the issuer processor is configured to remove the balancefrom the gift card that was added to digital wallet, to prevent the userto use the gift/prepaid card without going through the transactionhandler (103). Thus, if the gift/prepaid card is used in a setting thatdoes not involve the transaction handler (103), the issuer processor isconfigured to indicate that the balance the gift/prepaid card is 0.

In one embodiment, targeted offers are provided to the user (101) viathe digital wallet facilitated by the issuer processor, or via anothercommunication channel. Various methods to target, personalize, customizeoffers based on transaction data and/or other data, as discussed invarious sections of the present disclosure can be used, based at leastin part on the transaction data in the consumer account (146) and/orother accounts previously added in the digital wallet. In oneembodiment, the offers encourage the user to visit merchants to usetheir gift/prepaid card remaining balances and receive special dealswhen they use their linked consumer account (e.g., 146).

In one embodiment, the user can directly use the consumer account (146)to initiate the transaction at the transaction terminal, to use thegift/prepaid card remaining balances and redeem the benefit of the offer(e.g., merchant discount, loyalty points, reward, cashback). In responseto the authorization request for the transaction initiated using theconsumer account (146), the transaction handler (103) is configured tolook up the linked gift card balances for the user at the merchant,using the account information of the consumer account (146) and merchantidentification provided in the authorization request, in a way similarto the redemption of a generic offer discussed in previous sections. Thetransaction handler (103) is configured to reduce from the applicablebalance of gift/prepaid cards, and adjust the transaction amount beforepropagate the authorization request to the issuer processor associatedwith the consumer account (146).

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured toretain/maintain the linked visa card/merchant gift card balance amount;and the issuer processor of the gift/prepaid cards is configured toinform the transaction handler (103) of any update those gift/prepaidcards when used by users independently from the linked consumer account.

In one embodiment, after applying the benefit of the offer and theapplicable balance from the linked gift/prepaid cards, the transactionhandler (103) is configured to send the issuer processor of the consumeraccount (146) for the authorization of an amount equaling the totalticket less the balance available on the card, less any additionaldiscounts provided by the offer, if the amount is more than zero.

For example, the offer may provide the benefit of $10 discount. If theuser spends $100 at a merchant and the user has a $50 balance on anenrolled gift card at the merchant, the transaction handler (103) isconfigured to apply the $10 discount to the transaction, apply the $50balance from the enrolled gift card to the transaction and thus reducethe transaction amount to $40. The transaction handler (103) isconfigured to transmit the authorization request for $40 to the issuerprocessor of the consumer account (146), which is used to initiate thepayment transaction at the transaction terminal.

In one embodiment, the issuer processor of the gift/prepaid cards andthe issuer processor of the consumer account (146) are the same issuerprocessor. In one embodiment, the issuer processor of the gift/prepaidcards and the issuer processor of the consumer account (146) are thedifferent issuer processors.

In one embodiment, the digital wallet is facilitated by the mobileapplication or website of the issuer processor of the gift/prepaidcards. In one embodiment, the digital wallet is facilitated by themobile application or website connected to the transaction handler, theissuer processor of the consumer account (146), or a third party.

FIG. 29 shows a system to process a transaction according to oneembodiment. In FIG. 29, the data warehouse (149) of the transactionhandler (103) is configured to store data identifying the stored valuebalance (703) of the stored value account (702) associated with theissuer processor B (701). The data warehouse (149) further stores theconditions (705) related to the use of the stored value accounts (702),such as a gift card for a specific merchant, a prepaid card usable at apredetermined set of merchants, etc.

In one embodiment, the stored value balance (703) is associated with theaccount information (142) of the consumer account (146) of the user(101) (e.g., when the user (101) adds the stored value account (702) toa digital wallet containing the consumer account (146), or via a portal(143)).

In one embodiment, a targeted offer (186) is provided to the user (101)and stored in the data warehouse (149) in associate with the accountinformation (142). In one embodiment, the targeted offer (186) iscommunicated to the point of interaction (107) for presentation to theuser (101). The point of interaction (107) may be a digital wallet, amobile application, a web browser, an email client, etc.

In one embodiment, the targeted offer (186) is configured to allow theuser (101) to use the stored value balance (703) in accordance with theconditions (705) in transactions with predetermined merchants. The offer(186) may provide further benefits funded by the merchant, the issuerprocessor (701) of the stored value account (702), the issuer processor(145) of the consumer account (146), the transaction handler (103), or athird party sponsor processor (649).

In one embodiment, the issuer processor (701) of the stored valueaccount (702) and the issuer processor (145) of the consumer account(146) are physically separate issuer processors.

In one embodiment, the issuer processor (701) of the stored valueaccount (702) and the issuer processor (145) of the consumer account(146) are the same issuer processor, while the consumer account (146)and the stored value account (702) are separate, different accounts.

In one embodiment, the stored value account (172) can be used at thetransaction terminal (105) without going through the transaction handler(103); and the transactions made using the consumer account (146)associated with the issuer processor (145) go through the transactionhandler (103) during authorization, settlement and/or clearing.

In FIG. 29, when a transaction request (168) is initiated via the use ofthe account information (142) at the transaction terminal (105), thetransaction handler (103) is configured to identify the applicable offer(186). When the conditions (705) are satisfied, the transaction handler(103) is configured to apply the stored value balance (703) to reducethe transaction amount requested in the authorization request A (168),apply the additional benefit of the offer (186), and generate theauthorization request B (641) for the remaining balance for thetransaction in the consumer account (146).

In one embodiment, if the authorization response (643) approves thetransaction, the transaction handler (103) places a hold on the storedvalue balance (703), for the subsequent settlement of the transaction.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured togenerate the separate authorization request C (645) to obtain approvalof the use of the stored value balance (703) in the transactionrequested by the authorization request (168); and in such an embodiment,the data warehouse (149) does not have to store the stored value balance(703) and/or the conditions (705). In one embodiment, the data warehouse(149) stores information about the stored value account (702) togenerate and route the authorization request C (645).

In one embodiment, a computing apparatus/system configured to performthe methods of the disclosure includes at least one processor and amemory stored instructions configured to instruct the at least oneprocessor to perform the methods. The computing apparatus/system may beimplemented via one or more computers connected via a network. In oneembodiment, the computing apparatus includes at least one of: the datawarehouse (149), the portal (143), the transaction handler (103), theissuer processor (145) of the consumer account (146), the issuerprocessor (701) of the stored value account (720), and the transactionterminal (105).

Details about the system in one embodiment are provided in the sectionsentitled “SYSTEM,” “CENTRALIZED DATA WAREHOUSE” and “HARDWARE.”

Transaction Data Based Services

FIG. 1 illustrates a system to provide services based on transactiondata according to one embodiment. In FIG. 1, the system includes atransaction terminal (105) to initiate financial transactions for a user(101), a transaction handler (103) to generate transaction data (109)from processing the financial transactions of the user (101) (and thefinancial transactions of other users), a profile generator (121) togenerate transaction profiles (127) based on the transaction data (109)to provide information/intelligence about user preferences and spendingpatterns, a point of interaction (107) to provide information and/oroffers to the user (101), a user tracker (113) to generate user data(125) to identify the user (101) using the point of interaction (107), aprofile selector (129) to select a profile (131) specific to the user(101) identified by the user data (125), and an advertisement selector(133) to select, identify, generate, adjust, prioritize and/orpersonalize advertisements for presentation to the user (101) on thepoint of interaction (107) via a media controller (115).

In FIG. 1, the system further includes a correlator (117) to correlateuser specific advertisement data (119) with transactions resulting fromthe user specific advertisement data (119). The correlation results(123) can be used by the profile generator (121) to improve thetransaction profiles (127).

The transaction profiles (127) of one embodiment are generated from thetransaction data (109) in a way as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Forexample, in FIG. 2, an aggregated spending profile (341) is generatedvia the factor analysis (327) and cluster analysis (329) to summarize(335) the spending patterns/behaviors reflected in the transactionrecords (301).

In one embodiment, a data warehouse (149) as illustrated in FIG. 4 iscoupled with the transaction handler (103) to store the transaction data(109) and other data, such as account data (111), transaction profiles(127) and correlation results (123). In FIG. 4, a portal (143) iscoupled with the data warehouse (149) to provide data or informationderived from the transaction data (109), in response to a query requestfrom a third party or as an alert or notification message.

In FIG. 4, the transaction handler (103) is coupled between an issuerprocessor (145) in control of a consumer account (146) and an acquirerprocessor (147) in control of a merchant account (148). An accountidentification device (141) is configured to carry the accountinformation (142) that identifies the consumer account (146) with theissuer processor (145) and provide the account information (142) to thetransaction terminal (105) of a merchant to initiate a transactionbetween the user (101) and the merchant.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate examples of transaction terminals (105) andaccount identification devices (141). FIG. 7 illustrates the structureof a data processing system (170) that can be used to implement, withmore or fewer elements, at least some of the components in the system,such as the point of interaction (107), the transaction handler (103),the portal (143), the data warehouse, the account identification device(141), the transaction terminal (105), the user tracker (113), theprofile generator (121), the profile selector (129), the advertisementselector (133), the media controller (115), etc. Some embodiments usemore or fewer components than those illustrated, such as, in FIGS. 1,4-7, and other figures, as further discussed in the section entitled“VARIATIONS.”

In one embodiment, the transaction data (109) relates to financialtransactions processed by the transaction handler (103); and the accountdata (111) relates to information about the account holders involved inthe transactions. Further data, such as merchant data that relates tothe location, business, products and/or services of the merchants thatreceive payments from account holders for their purchases, can be usedin the generation of the transaction profiles (127, 341).

In one embodiment, the financial transactions are made via an accountidentification device (141), such as financial transaction cards (e.g.,credit cards, debit cards, banking cards, etc.); the financialtransaction cards may be embodied in various devices, such as plasticcards, chips, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, mobilephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.; and the financialtransaction cards may be represented by account identifiers (e.g.,account numbers or aliases). In one embodiment, the financialtransactions are made via directly using the account information (142),without physically presenting the account identification device (141).

Further features, modifications and details are provided in varioussections of this description.

Centralized Data Warehouse

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) couples with acentralized data warehouse (149) organized around the transaction data(109). For example, the centralized data warehouse (149) may include,and/or support the determination of, spend band distribution,transaction count and amount, merchant categories, merchant by state,cardholder segmentation by velocity scores, and spending within merchanttarget, competitive set and cross-section. For example, the centralizeddata warehouse (149) may include the advertisement data (135) and/oroffers of benefits such as discount, reward, points, cashback, etc. Theoffers can be communicated to the users (e.g., 101) via theadvertisement data (135) or as part of the advertisement data (135).

In one embodiment, the centralized data warehouse (149) providescentralized management but allows decentralized execution. For example,a third party strategic marketing analyst, statistician, marketer,promoter, business leader, etc., may access the centralized datawarehouse (149) to analyze customer and shopper data, to providefollow-up analyses of customer contributions, to develop propensitymodels for increased conversion of marketing campaigns, to developsegmentation models for marketing, etc. The centralized data warehouse(149) can be used to manage advertisement campaigns and analyze responseprofitability.

In one embodiment, the centralized data warehouse (149) includesmerchant data (e.g., data about sellers), customer/business data (e.g.,data about buyers), and transaction records (301) between sellers andbuyers over time. The centralized data warehouse (149) can be used tosupport corporate sales forecasting, fraud analysis reporting,sales/customer relationship management (CRM) business intelligence,credit risk prediction and analysis, advanced authorization reporting,merchant benchmarking, business intelligence for small business,rewards, etc.

In one embodiment, the transaction data (109) is combined with externaldata, such as surveys, benchmarks, search engine statistics,demographics, competition information, emails, etc., to flag key eventsand data values, to set customer, merchant, data or event triggers, andto drive new transactions and new customer contacts.

Transaction Profile

In FIG. 1, the profile generator (121) generates transaction profiles(127) based on the transaction data (109), the account data (111),and/or other data, such as non-transactional data, wish lists, merchantprovided information, address information, information from socialnetwork websites, information from credit bureaus, information fromsearch engines, and other examples discussed in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/614,603, filed Nov. 9, 2009, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2011/0054981, and entitled “Analyzing Local Non-Transactional Datawith Transactional Data in Predictive Models,” the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the transaction profiles (127) provide intelligenceinformation on the behavior, pattern, preference, propensity, tendency,frequency, trend, and budget of the user (101) in making purchases. Inone embodiment, the transaction profiles (127) include information aboutwhat the user (101) owns, such as points, miles, or other rewardscurrency, available credit, and received offers, such as coupons loadedinto the accounts of the user (101). In one embodiment, the transactionprofiles (127) include information based on past offer/coupon redemptionpatterns. In one embodiment, the transaction profiles (127) includeinformation on shopping patterns in retail stores as well as online,including frequency of shopping, amount spent in each shopping trip,distance of merchant location (retail) from the address of the accountholder(s), etc.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) (and/or the portal(143)) is configured to provide at least part of the intelligence forthe prioritization, generation, selection, customization and/oradjustment of the advertisement for delivery within a transactionprocess involving the transaction handler (103). For example, theadvertisement may be presented to a customer in response to the customermaking a payment via the transaction handler (103).

Some of the transaction profiles (127) are specific to the user (101),or to an account of the user (101), or to a group of users of which theuser (101) is a member, such as a household, family, company,neighborhood, city, or group identified by certain characteristicsrelated to online activities, offline purchase activities, merchantpropensity, etc.

The profile generator (121) may generate and update the transactionprofiles (127) in batch mode periodically, or generates the transactionprofiles (127) in real time, or just in time, in response to a requestreceived in the portal (143) for such profiles.

The transaction profiles (127) of one embodiment include the values fora set of parameters. Computing the values of the parameters may involvecounting transactions that meet one or more criteria, and/or building astatistically-based model in which one or more calculated values ortransformed values are put into a statistical algorithm that weightseach value to optimize its collective predictiveness for variouspredetermined purposes.

Further details and examples about the transaction profiles (127) in oneembodiment are provided in the section entitled “AGGREGATED SPENDINGPROFILE.”

Non-Transactional Data

In one embodiment, the transaction data (109) is analyzed in connectionwith non-transactional data to generate transaction profiles (127)and/or to make predictive models.

In one embodiment, transactions are correlated with non-transactionalevents, such as news, conferences, shows, announcements, market changes,natural disasters, etc. to establish cause and effect relations topredict future transactions or spending patterns. For example,non-transactional data may include the geographic location of a newsevent, the date of an event from an events calendar, the name of aperformer for an upcoming concert, etc. The non-transactional data canbe obtained from various sources, such as newspapers, websites, blogs,social networking sites, etc.

When the cause and effect relationships between the transactions andnon-transactional events are known (e.g., based on prior researchresults, domain knowledge, expertise), the relationships can be used inpredictive models to predict future transactions or spending patterns,based on events that occurred recently or are happening in real time.

In one embodiment, the non-transactional data relates to events thathappened in a geographical area local to the user (101) that performedthe respective transactions. In one embodiment, a geographical area islocal to the user (101) when the distance from the user (101) tolocations in the geographical area is within a convenient range fordaily or regular travel, such as 20, 50 or 100 miles from an address ofthe user (101), or within the same city or zip code area of an addressof the user (101). Examples of analyses of local non-transactional datain connection with transaction data (109) in one embodiment are providedin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/614,603, filed Nov. 9, 2009,assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0054981, and entitled “AnalyzingLocal Non-Transactional Data with Transactional Data in PredictiveModels,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

In one embodiment, the non-transactional data is not limited to localnon-transactional data. For example, national non-transactional data canalso be used.

In one embodiment, the transaction records (301) are analyzed infrequency domain to identify periodic features in spending events. Theperiodic features in the past transaction records (301) can be used topredict the probability of a time window in which a similar transactionwould occur. For example, the analysis of the transaction data (109) canbe used to predict when a next transaction having the periodic featurewould occur, with which merchant, the probability of a repeatedtransaction with a certain amount, the probability of exception, theopportunity to provide an advertisement or offer such as a coupon, etc.In one embodiment, the periodic features are detected through countingthe number of occurrences of pairs of transactions that occurred withina set of predetermined time intervals and separating the transactionpairs based on the time intervals. Some examples and techniques for theprediction of future transactions based on the detection of periodicfeatures in one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/773,770, filed May 4, 2010, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2010/0280882, and entitled “Frequency-Based Transaction Prediction andProcessing,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

Techniques and details of predictive modeling in one embodiment areprovided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,119,103, 6,018,723, 6,658,393, 6,598,030,and 7,227,950, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

In one embodiment, offers are based on the point-of-service to offereedistance to allow the user (101) to obtain in-person services. In oneembodiment, the offers are selected based on transaction history andshopping patterns in the transaction data (109) and/or the distancebetween the user (101) and the merchant. In one embodiment, offers areprovided in response to a request from the user (101), or in response toa detection of the location of the user (101). Examples and details ofat least one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/767,218, filed Jun. 22, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2008/0319843, and entitled “Supply of Requested Offer Based on Point-ofService to Offeree Distance,” U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/755,575, filed May 30, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2008/0300973, and entitled “Supply of Requested Offer Based on OffereeTransaction History,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/855,042, filedSep. 13, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0076896, andentitled “Merchant Supplied Offer to a Consumer within a PredeterminedDistance,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/855,069, filed Sep. 13,2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0076925, and entitled“Offeree Requested Offer Based on Point-of Service to Offeree Distance,”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/428,302, filed Apr. 22, 2009,assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0274627, and entitled “Receivingan Announcement Triggered by Location Data,” the disclosures of whichapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Targeting Advertisement

In FIG. 1, an advertisement selector (133) prioritizes, generates,selects, adjusts, and/or customizes the available advertisement data(135) to provide user specific advertisement data (119) based at leastin part on the user specific profile (131). The advertisement selector(133) uses the user specific profile (131) as a filter and/or a set ofcriteria to generate, identify, select and/or prioritize advertisementdata for the user (101). A media controller (115) delivers the userspecific advertisement data (119) to the point of interaction (107) forpresentation to the user (101) as the targeted and/or personalizedadvertisement.

In one embodiment, the user data (125) includes the characterization ofthe context at the point of interaction (107). Thus, the use of the userspecific profile (131), selected using the user data (125), includes theconsideration of the context at the point of interaction (107) inselecting the user specific advertisement data (119).

In one embodiment, in selecting the user specific advertisement data(119), the advertisement selector (133) uses not only the user specificprofile (131), but also information regarding the context at the pointof interaction (107). For example, in one embodiment, the user data(125) includes information regarding the context at the point ofinteraction (107); and the advertisement selector (133) explicitly usesthe context information in the generation or selection of the userspecific advertisement data (119).

In one embodiment, the advertisement selector (133) may query forspecific information regarding the user (101) before providing the userspecific advertisement data (119). The queries may be communicated tothe operator of the transaction handler (103) and, in particular, to thetransaction handler (103) or the profile generator (121). For example,the queries from the advertisement selector (133) may be transmitted andreceived in accordance with an application programming interface orother query interface of the transaction handler (103), the profilegenerator (121) or the portal (143) of the transaction handler (103).

In one embodiment, the queries communicated from the advertisementselector (133) may request intelligence information regarding the user(101) at any level of specificity (e.g., segment level, individuallevel). For example, the queries may include a request for a certainfield or type of information in a cardholder's aggregate spendingprofile (341). As another example, the queries may include a request forthe spending level of the user (101) in a certain merchant category overa prior time period (e.g., six months).

In one embodiment, the advertisement selector (133) is operated by anentity that is separate from the entity that operates the transactionhandler (103). For example, the advertisement selector (133) may beoperated by a search engine, a publisher, an advertiser, an ad network,or an online merchant. The user specific profile (131) is provided tothe advertisement selector (133) to assist the customization of the userspecific advertisement data (119).

In one embodiment, advertising is targeted based on shopping patterns ina merchant category (e.g., as represented by a Merchant Category Code(MCC)) that has high correlation of spending propensity with othermerchant categories (e.g., other MCCs). For example, in the context of afirst MCC for a targeted audience, a profile identifying second MCCsthat have high correlation of spending propensity with the first MCC canbe used to select advertisements for the targeted audience.

In one embodiment, the aggregated spending profile (341) is used toprovide intelligence information about the spending patterns,preferences, and/or trends of the user (101). For example, a predictivemodel can be established based on the aggregated spending profile (341)to estimate the needs of the user (101). For example, the factor values(344) and/or the cluster ID (343) in the aggregated spending profile(341) can be used to determine the spending preferences of the user(101). For example, the channel distribution (345) in the aggregatedspending profile (341) can be used to provide a customized offertargeted for a particular channel, based on the spending patterns of theuser (101).

In one embodiment, mobile advertisements, such as offers and coupons,are generated and disseminated based on aspects of prior purchases, suchas timing, location, and nature of the purchases, etc. In oneembodiment, the size of the benefit of the offer or coupon is based onpurchase volume or spending amount of the prior purchase and/or thesubsequent purchase that may qualify for the redemption of the offer.Further details and examples of one embodiment are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/960,162, filed Dec. 19, 2007, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0201226, and entitled “Mobile Coupon Methodand Portable Consumer Device for Utilizing Same,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, conditional rewards are provided to the user (101);and the transaction handler (103) monitors the transactions of the user(101) to identify redeemable rewards that have satisfied the respectiveconditions. In one embodiment, the conditional rewards are selectedbased on transaction data (109). Further details and examples of oneembodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/862,487,filed Sep. 27, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0082418, andentitled “Consumer Specific Conditional Rewards,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The techniques todetect the satisfied conditions of conditional rewards can also be usedto detect the transactions that satisfy the conditions specified tolocate the transactions that result from online activities, such asonline advertisements, searches, etc., to correlate the transactionswith the respective online activities.

Further details about targeted offer delivery in one embodiment areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/185,332, filed Aug. 4,2008, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0030644, and entitled“Targeted Advertising by Payment Processor History of Cashless AcquiredMerchant Transaction on Issued Consumer Account,” and in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/849,793, filed Aug. 3, 2010, assigned U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2011/0035280, and entitled “Systems and Methods forTargeted Advertisement Delivery,” the disclosures of which applicationsare hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Profile Matching

In FIG. 1, the user tracker (113) obtains and generates contextinformation about the user (101) at the point of interaction (107),including user data (125) that characterizes and/or identifies the user(101). The profile selector (129) selects a user specific profile (131)from the set of transaction profiles (127) generated by the profilegenerator (121), based on matching the characteristics of thetransaction profiles (127) and the characteristics of the user data(125). For example, the user data (125) indicates a set ofcharacteristics of the user (101); and the profile selector (129)selects the user specific profile (131) that is for a particular user ora group of users and that best matches the set of characteristicsspecified by the user data (125).

In one embodiment, the profile selector (129) receives the transactionprofiles (127) in a batch mode. The profile selector (129) selects theuser specific profile (131) from the batch of transaction profiles (127)based on the user data (125). Alternatively, the profile generator (121)generates the transaction profiles (127) in real time; and the profileselector (129) uses the user data (125) to query the profile generator(121) to generate the user specific profile (131) in real time, or justin time. The profile generator (121) generates the user specific profile(131) that best matches the user data (125).

In one embodiment, the user tracker (113) identifies the user (101)based on the user activity on the transaction terminal (105) (e.g.,having visited a set of websites, currently visiting a type of webpages, search behavior, etc.).

In one embodiment, the user data (125) includes an identifier of theuser (101), such as a global unique identifier (GUID), a personalaccount number (PAN) (e.g., credit card number, debit card number, orother card account number), or other identifiers that uniquely andpersistently identify the user (101) within a set of identifiers of thesame type. Alternatively, the user data (125) may include otheridentifiers, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user(101), a name or user name of the user (101), or a browser cookie ID,which identify the user (101) in a local, temporary, transient and/oranonymous manner. Some of these identifiers of the user (101) may beprovided by publishers, advertisers, ad networks, search engines,merchants, or the user tracker (113). In one embodiment, suchidentifiers are correlated to the user (101) based on the overlapping orproximity of the time period of their usage to establish anidentification reference table.

In one embodiment, the identification reference table is used toidentify the account information (142) (e.g., account number (302))based on characteristics of the user (101) captured in the user data(125), such as browser cookie ID, IP addresses, and/or timestamps on theusage of the IP addresses. In one embodiment, the identificationreference table is maintained by the operator of the transaction handler(103). Alternatively, the identification reference table is maintainedby an entity other than the operator of the transaction handler (103).

In one embodiment, the user tracker (113) determines certaincharacteristics of the user (101) to describe a type or group of usersof which the user (101) is a member. The transaction profile of thegroup is used as the user specific profile (131). Examples of suchcharacteristics include geographical location or neighborhood, types ofonline activities, specific online activities, or merchant propensity.In one embodiment, the groups are defined based on aggregate information(e.g., by time of day, or household), or segment (e.g., by cluster,propensity, demographics, cluster IDs, and/or factor values). In oneembodiment, the groups are defined in part via one or more socialnetworks. For example, a group may be defined based on social distancesto one or more users on a social network website, interactions betweenusers on a social network website, and/or common data in social networkprofiles of the users in the social network website.

In one embodiment, the user data (125) may match different profiles at adifferent granularity or resolution (e.g., account, user, family,company, neighborhood, etc.), with different degrees of certainty. Theprofile selector (129) and/or the profile generator (121) may determineor select the user specific profile (131) with the finest granularity orresolution with acceptable certainty. Thus, the user specific profile(131) is most specific or closely related to the user (101).

In one embodiment, the advertisement selector (133) uses further data inprioritizing, selecting, generating, customizing and adjusting the userspecific advertisement data (119). For example, the advertisementselector (133) may use search data in combination with the user specificprofile (131) to provide benefits or offers to a user (101) at the pointof interaction (107). For example, the user specific profile (131) canbe used to personalize the advertisement, such as adjusting theplacement of the advertisement relative to other advertisements,adjusting the appearance of the advertisement, etc.

Browser Cookie

In one embodiment, the user data (125) uses browser cookie informationto identify the user (101). The browser cookie information is matched toaccount information (142) or the account number (302) to identify theuser specific profile (131), such as aggregated spending profile (341)to present effective, timely, and relevant marketing information to theuser (101), via the preferred communication channel (e.g., mobilecommunications, web, mail, email, POS, etc.) within a window of timethat could influence the spending behavior of the user (101). Based onthe transaction data (109), the user specific profile (131) can improveaudience targeting for online advertising. Thus, customers will getbetter advertisements and offers presented to them; and the advertiserswill achieve better return-on-investment for their advertisementcampaigns.

In one embodiment, the browser cookie that identifies the user (101) inonline activities, such as web browsing, online searching, and usingsocial networking applications, can be matched to an identifier of theuser (101) in account data (111), such as the account number (302) of afinancial payment card of the user (101) or the account information(142) of the account identification device (141) of the user (101). Inone embodiment, the identifier of the user (101) can be uniquelyidentified via matching IP address, timestamp, cookie ID and/or otheruser data (125) observed by the user tracker (113).

In one embodiment, a look up table is used to map browser cookieinformation (e.g., IP address, timestamp, cookie ID) to the account data(111) that identifies the user (101) in the transaction handler (103).The look up table may be established via correlating overlapping orcommon portions of the user data (125) observed by different entities ordifferent user trackers (113).

In one embodiment, the portal (143) is configured to identify theconsumer account (146) based on the IP address identified in the userdata (125) through mapping the IP address to a street address.

In one embodiment, the portal (143) uses a plurality of methods toidentify consumer accounts (146) based on the user data (125). Theportal (143) combines the results from the different methods todetermine the most likely consumer account (146) for the user data(125).

Details about the identification of consumer account (146) based on userdata (125) in one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/849,798, filed Aug. 3, 2010, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2011/0093327, and entitled “Systems and Methods to MatchIdentifiers,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

Close the Loop

In one embodiment, the correlator (117) is used to “close the loop” forthe tracking of consumer behavior across an on-line activity and an“off-line” activity that results at least in part from the on-lineactivity. In one embodiment, online activities, such as searching, webbrowsing, social networking, and/or consuming online advertisements, arecorrelated with respective transactions to generate the correlationresult (123) in FIG. 1. The respective transactions may occur offline,in “brick and mortar” retail stores, or online but in a context outsidethe online activities, such as a credit card purchase that is performedin a way not visible to a search company that facilitates the searchactivities.

The correlator (117) is configured in one embodiment to identifytransactions resulting from searches or online advertisements. Forexample, in response to a query about the user (101) from the usertracker (113), the correlator (117) identifies an offline transactionperformed by the user (101) and sends the correlation result (123) aboutthe offline transaction to the user tracker (113), which allows the usertracker (113) to combine the information about the offline transactionand the online activities to provide significant marketing advantages.

For example, a marketing department could correlate an advertisingbudget to actual sales. For example, a marketer can use the correlationresult (123) to study the effect of certain prioritization strategies,customization schemes, etc. on the impact on the actual sales. Forexample, the correlation result (123) can be used to adjust orprioritize advertisement placement on a web site, a search engine, asocial networking site, an online marketplace, or the like.

In one embodiment, the profile generator (121) uses the correlationresult (123) to augment the transaction profiles (127) with dataindicating the rate of conversion from searches or advertisements topurchase transactions. In one embodiment, the correlation result (123)is used to generate predictive models to determine what a user (101) islikely to purchase when the user (101) is searching using certainkeywords or when the user (101) is presented with an advertisement oroffer. In one embodiment, the portal (143) is configured to report thecorrelation result (123) to a partner, such as a search engine, apublisher, or a merchant, to allow the partner to use the correlationresult (123) to measure the effectiveness of advertisements and/orsearch result customization, to arrange rewards, etc.

In one embodiment, the correlator (117) matches the online activitiesand the transactions based on matching the user data (125) provided bythe user tracker (113) and the records of the transactions, such astransaction data (109) or transaction records (301). In anotherembodiment, the correlator (117) matches the online activities and thetransactions based on the redemption of offers/benefits provided in theuser specific advertisement data (119).

In one embodiment, the portal (143) is configured to receive a set ofconditions and an identification of the user (101), determine whetherthere is any transaction of the user (101) that satisfies the set ofconditions, and if so, provide indications of the transactions thatsatisfy the conditions and/or certain details about the transactions,which allows the requester to correlate the transactions with certainuser activities, such as searching, web browsing, consumingadvertisements, etc.

In one embodiment, the requester may not know the account number (302)of the user (101); and the portal (143) is to map the identifierprovided in the request to the account number (302) of the user (101) toprovide the requested information. Examples of the identifier beingprovided in the request to identify the user (101) include anidentification of an iFrame of a web page visited by the user (101), abrowser cookie ID, an IP address and the day and time corresponding tothe use of the IP address, etc.

The information provided by the portal (143) can be used in pre-purchasemarketing activities, such as customizing content or offers,prioritizing content or offers, selecting content or offers, etc., basedon the spending pattern of the user (101). The content that iscustomized, prioritized, selected, or recommended may be the searchresults, blog entries, items for sale, etc.

The information provided by the portal (143) can be used inpost-purchase activities. For example, the information can be used tocorrelate an offline purchase with online activities. For example, theinformation can be used to determine purchases made in response to mediaevents, such as television programs, advertisements, news announcements,etc.

Details about profile delivery, online activity to offline purchasetracking, techniques to identify the user specific profile (131) basedon user data (125) (such as IP addresses), and targeted delivery ofadvertisement/offer/benefit in some embodiments are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/849,789, filed Aug. 3, 2010, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0035278, and entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Closing the Loop between Online Activities and Offline Purchases,”the disclosure of which application is incorporated herein by reference.

Loyalty Program

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) uses the account data(111) to store information for third party loyalty programs.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of account data (111) for providing loyaltyprograms according to one embodiment. In FIG. 8, data related to a thirdparty loyalty program may include an identifier of the loyalty benefitofferor (183) that is linked to a set of loyalty program rules (185) andloyalty record (187) for the loyalty program activities of the accountidentifier (181). In one embodiment, at least part of the data relatedto the third party loyalty program is stored under the accountidentifier (181) of the user (101), such as the loyalty record (187).

FIG. 8 illustrates the data related to one third party loyalty programof a loyalty benefit offeror (183). In one embodiment, the accountidentifier (181) may be linked to multiple loyalty benefit offerors(e.g., 183), corresponding to different third party loyalty programs.The third party loyalty program of the loyalty benefit offeror (183)provides the user (101), identified by the account identifier (181),with benefits, such as discounts, rewards, incentives, cash back, gifts,coupons, and/or privileges.

In one embodiment, the association between the account identifier (181)and the loyalty benefit offeror (183) in the account data (111)indicates that the user (101) having the account identifier (181) is amember of the loyalty program. Thus, the user (101) may use the accountidentifier (181) to access privileges afforded to the members of theloyalty programs, such as rights to access a member only area, facility,store, product or service, discounts extended only to members, oropportunities to participate in certain events, buy certain items, orreceive certain services reserved for members.

In one embodiment, it is not necessary to make a purchase to use theprivileges. The user (101) may enjoy the privileges based on the statusof being a member of the loyalty program. The user (101) may use theaccount identifier (181) to show the status of being a member of theloyalty program.

For example, the user (101) may provide the account identifier (181)(e.g., the account number of a credit card) to the transaction terminal(105) to initiate an authorization process for a special transactionwhich is designed to check the member status of the user (101), as ifthe account identifier (181) were used to initiate an authorizationprocess for a payment transaction. The special transaction is designedto verify the member status of the user (101) via checking whether theaccount data (111) is associated with the loyalty benefit offeror (183).If the account identifier (181) is associated with the correspondingloyalty benefit offeror (183), the transaction handler (103) provides anapproval indication in the authorization process to indicate that theuser (101) is a member of the loyalty program. The approval indicationcan be used as a form of identification to allow the user (101) toaccess member privileges, such as access to services, products,opportunities, facilities, discounts, permissions, which are reservedfor members.

In one embodiment, when the account identifier (181) is used to identifythe user (101) as a member to access member privileges, the transactionhandler (103) stores information about the access of the correspondingmember privilege in loyalty record (187). The profile generator (121)may use the information accumulated in the loyalty record (187) toenhance transaction profiles (127) and provide the user (101) withpersonalized/targeted advertisements, with or without further offers ofbenefit (e.g., discounts, incentives, rebates, cash back, rewards,etc.).

In one embodiment, the association of the account identifier (181) andthe loyalty benefit offeror (183) also allows the loyalty benefitofferor (183) to access at least a portion of the account data (111)relevant to the loyalty program, such as the loyalty record (187) andcertain information about the user (101), such as name, address, andother demographic data.

In one embodiment, the loyalty program allows the user (101) toaccumulate benefits according to loyalty program rules (185), such asreward points, cash back, levels of discounts, etc. For example, theuser (101) may accumulate reward points for transactions that satisfythe loyalty program rules (185); and the user (101) may use the rewardpoints to redeem cash, gift, discounts, etc. In one embodiment, theloyalty record (187) stores the accumulated benefits; and thetransaction handler (103) updates the loyalty record (187) associatedwith the loyalty benefit offeror (183) and the account identifier (181),when events that satisfy the loyalty program rules occur.

In one embodiment, the accumulated benefits as indicated in the loyaltyrecord (187) can be redeemed when the account identifier (181) is usedto perform a payment transaction, when the payment transaction satisfiesthe loyalty program rules. For example, the user (101) may redeem anumber of points to offset or reduce an amount of the purchase price.

In one embodiment, when the user (101) uses the account identifier (181)to make purchases as a member, the merchant may further provideinformation about the purchases; and the transaction handler (103) canstore the information about the purchases as part of the loyalty record(187). The information about the purchases may identify specific itemsor services purchased by the member. For example, the merchant mayprovide the transaction handler (103) with purchase details atstock-keeping unit (SKU) level, which are then stored as part of theloyalty record (187). The loyalty benefit offeror (183) may use thepurchase details to study the purchase behavior of the user (101); andthe profile generator (121) may use the SKU level purchase details toenhance the transaction profiles (127).

In one embodiment, the SKU level purchase details are requested from themerchants or retailers via authorization responses (e.g., as illustratedin FIG. 9), when the account (146) of the user (101) is enrolled in aloyalty program that allows the transaction handler (103) (and/or theissuer processor (145)) to collect the purchase details.

A method to provide loyalty programs of one embodiment includes the useof the transaction handler (103) as part of a computing apparatus. Thecomputing apparatus processes a plurality of payment card transactions.After the computing apparatus receives a request to track transactionsfor a loyalty program, such as the loyalty program rules (185), thecomputing apparatus stores and updates loyalty program information inresponse to transactions occurring in the loyalty program. The computingapparatus provides to a customer (e.g., 101) an offer of a benefit whenthe customer satisfies a condition defined in the loyalty program, suchas the loyalty program rules (185). In one embodiment, the loyaltybenefit as identified in the loyalty record (187) can be redeemed inconnection with a transaction in a way the benefit of an offer stored inassociation with the account identifier (181) is redeemed.

Examples of loyalty programs through collaboration between collaborativeconstituents in a payment processing system, including the transactionhandler (103) in one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/767,202, filed Jun. 22, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2008/0059302, and entitled “Loyalty Program Service,” U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/848,112, filed Aug. 30, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2008/0059306, and entitled “Loyalty Program IncentiveDetermination,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/848,179, filedAug. 30, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0059307, andentitled “Loyalty Program Parameter Collaboration,” the disclosures ofwhich applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Examples of processing the redemption of accumulated loyalty benefitsvia the transaction handler (103) in one embodiment are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/835,100, filed Aug. 7, 2007, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0059303, and entitled “TransactionEvaluation for Providing Rewards,” the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the incentive, reward, or benefit provided in theloyalty program is based on the presence of correlated relatedtransactions. For example, in one embodiment, an incentive is providedif a financial payment card is used in a reservation system to make areservation and the financial payment card is subsequently used to payfor the reserved good or service. Further details and examples of oneembodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/945,907,filed Nov. 27, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0071587, andentitled “Incentive Wireless Communication Reservation,” the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) provides centralizedloyalty program management, reporting and membership services. In oneembodiment, membership data is downloaded from the transaction handler(103) to acceptance point devices, such as the transaction terminal(105). In one embodiment, loyalty transactions are reported from theacceptance point devices to the transaction handler (103); and the dataindicating the loyalty points, rewards, benefits, etc. are stored on theaccount identification device (141). Further details and examples of oneembodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/401,504,filed Mar. 27, 2003, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2004/0054581, andentitled “Network Centric Loyalty System,” the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the portal (143) of the transaction handler (103) isused to manage reward or loyalty programs for entities such as issuers,merchants, etc. The cardholders, such as the user (101), are rewardedwith offers/benefits from merchants. The portal (143) and/or thetransaction handler (103) track the transaction records for themerchants for the reward or loyalty programs. Further details andexamples of one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/688,423, filed Mar. 20, 2007, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2008/0195473, and entitled “Reward Program Manager,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, a loyalty program includes multiple entitiesproviding access to detailed transaction data, which allows theflexibility for the customization of the loyalty program. For example,issuers or merchants may sponsor the loyalty program to provide rewards;and the portal (143) and/or the transaction handler (103) stores theloyalty currency in the data warehouse (149). Further details andexamples of one embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/177,530, filed Jul. 22, 2008, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2009/0030793, and entitled “Multi-Vender Multi-Loyalty CurrencyProgram,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

In one embodiment, an incentive program is created on the portal (143)of the transaction handler (103). The portal (143) collects offers froma plurality of merchants and stores the offers in the data warehouse(149). The offers may have associated criteria for their distributions.The portal (143) and/or the transaction handler (103) may recommendoffers based on the transaction data (109). In one embodiment, thetransaction handler (103) automatically applies the benefits of theoffers during the processing of the transactions when the transactionssatisfy the conditions associated with the offers. In one embodiment,the transaction handler (103) communicates with transaction terminals(105) to set up, customize, and/or update offers based on market focus,product categories, service categories, targeted consumer demographics,etc. Further details and examples of one embodiment are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/413,097, filed Mar. 27, 2009, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0049620, and entitled “Merchant DeviceSupport of an Integrated Offer Network,” the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured toprovide offers from merchants to the user (101) via the payment system,making accessing and redeeming the offers convenient for the user (101).The offers may be triggered by and/or tailored to a previoustransaction, and may be valid only for a limited period of time startingfrom the date of the previous transaction. If the transaction handler(103) determines that a subsequent transaction processed by thetransaction handler (103) meets the conditions for the redemption of anoffer, the transaction handler (103) may credit the consumer account(146) for the redemption of the offer and/or provide a notificationmessage to the user (101). Further details and examples of oneembodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/566,350,filed Sep. 24, 2009, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0114686, andentitled “Real-Time Statement Credits and Notifications,” the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Details on loyalty programs in one embodiment are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/896,632, filed Oct. 1, 2010, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0087530, and entitled “Systems and Methodsto Provide Loyalty Programs,” the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

SKU

In one embodiment, merchants generate stock-keeping unit (SKU) or otherspecific information that identifies the particular goods and servicespurchased by the user (101) or customer. The SKU information may beprovided to the operator of the transaction handler (103) that processedthe purchases. The operator of the transaction handler (103) may storethe SKU information as part of transaction data (109), and reflect theSKU information for a particular transaction in a transaction profile(127 or 131) associated with the person involved in the transaction.

When a user (101) shops at a traditional retail store or browses awebsite of an online merchant, an SKU-level profile associatedspecifically with the user (101) may be provided to select anadvertisement appropriately targeted to the user (101) (e.g., via mobilephones, POS terminals, web browsers, etc.). The SKU-level profile forthe user (101) may include an identification of the goods and serviceshistorically purchased by the user (101). In addition, the SKU-levelprofile for the user (101) may identify goods and services that the user(101) may purchase in the future. The identification may be based onhistorical purchases reflected in SKU-level profiles of otherindividuals or groups that are determined to be similar to the user(101). Accordingly, the return on investment for advertisers andmerchants can be greatly improved.

In one embodiment, the user specific profile (131) is an aggregatedspending profile (341) that is generated using the SKU-levelinformation. For example, in one embodiment, the factor values (344)correspond to factor definitions (331) that are generated based onaggregating spending in different categories of products and/orservices. A typical merchant offers products and/or services in manydifferent categories.

In one embodiment, the SKU level purchase details are requested from themerchants or retailers via authorization responses (e.g., as illustratedin FIG. 9), when the account (146) of the user (101) is enrolled in aprogram that allows the transaction handler (103) (and/or the issuerprocessor (145)) to collect the purchase details. Based on the SKUinformation and perhaps other transaction data, the profile generator(121) may create an SKU-level transaction profile for the user (101). Inone embodiment, based on the SKU information associated with thetransactions for each person entering into transactions with theoperator of the transaction handler (103), the profile generator (121)may create an SKU-level transaction profile for each person.

Details on SKU-level profile in one embodiment are provided in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/899,144, filed Oct. 6, 2010, assignedU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0093335, and entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Advertising Services Based on an SKU-Level Profile,” the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Purchase Details

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured toselectively request purchase details via authorization responses. Whenthe transaction handler (103) (and/or the issuer processor (145)) needspurchase details, such as identification of specific items purchasedand/or their prices, the authorization responses transmitted from thetransaction handler (103) is to include an indicator to request for thepurchase details for the transaction that is being authorized. Themerchants are to determine whether or not to submit purchase detailsbased on whether or not there is a demand indicated in the authorizationresponses from the transaction handler (103).

FIG. 9 shows a system to obtain purchase details according to oneembodiment. In FIG. 9, when the user (101) uses the consumer account(146) to make a payment for a purchase, the transaction terminal (105)of the merchant or retailer sends an authorization request (168) to thetransaction handler (103). In response, an authorization response (138)is transmitted from the transaction handler (103) to the transactionterminal (105) to inform the merchant or retailer of the decision toapprove or reject the payment request, as decided by the issuerprocessor (145) and/or the transaction handler (103). The authorizationresponse (138) typically includes an authorization code (137) toidentify the transaction and/or to signal that the transaction isapproved.

In one embodiment, when the transaction is approved and there is a needfor purchase details (169), the transaction handler (103) (or the issuerprocessor (145)) is to provide an indicator of the request (139) forpurchase details in the authorization response (138). The optionalrequest (139) allows the transaction handler (103) (and/or the issuerprocessor (145)) to request purchase details (169) from the merchant orretailer on demand. When the request (139) for purchase details ispresent in the authorization response (138), the transaction terminal(105) is to provide the purchase details (169) associated with thepayment transaction to the transaction handler (103) directly orindirectly via the portal (143). When the request (139) is absent fromthe authorization response (138), the transaction terminal (105) doesnot have to provide the purchase details (169) for the paymenttransaction.

In one embodiment, prior to transmitting the authorization response(138), the transaction handler (103) (and/or the issuer processor (145))determines whether there is a need for transaction details. When thereis no need for the purchase details (169) for a payment transaction, therequest (139) for purchase details (169) is not provided in theauthorization response (138) for the payment transaction. When there isa need for the purchase details (169) for a payment transaction, therequest (139) for purchase details is provided in the authorizationresponse (138) for the payment transaction. The merchants or retailersdo not have to send detailed purchase data to the transaction handler(103) when the authorization response message does not explicitlyrequest detailed purchase data.

Offer Redemption

FIG. 10 shows a system to automate the processing of offers in responseto purchases made in various channels according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 10, the transaction handler (103) has a portal (143) and a datawarehouse (149) storing the transaction data (109) recording thetransactions processed by the transaction handler (103). Theadvertisement server (201) is to provide an advertisement (205) to thepoint of interaction (107), such as a web browser of the user (101).

In FIG. 10, the advertisement (205) is to include a link to the merchantwebsite (203) and an offer (186) with a link to the portal (143). Whenthe link to the merchant website (203) is selected on the point ofinteraction (107), the user (101) is to visit the merchant website (203)for further details about the products and/or services of the merchantor advertiser. When the link to the portal (143) is selected, the offer(186) is identified to the portal (143) for association with a consumeraccount (146) of the user (101) identified by the account information(142).

In one embodiment, when the link to the portal (143) is selected, theuser (101) is to provide the account information (142) to the portal(143) via the point of interaction (107) to identify the consumeraccount (146) of the user (101). After both the consumer account (146)of the user (101) and the offer (186) are identified, the data warehouse(149) is to store the data to associate offer (186) with the accountinformation (142) in the account data (111) of the user (101).

In one embodiment, the account information (142) is pre-stored in theaccount data (111) of the user (101). The portal (143) is toauthenticate the identity of the user (101) in response to the userselection of the link to the portal (143). After the user (101) isidentified via authentication, the data warehouse (149) stores the datato associate offer (186) with the account information (142) in theaccount data (111) of the user (101).

In one embodiment, the account data (111) of the user (101) may havemultiple consumer accounts (e.g., 146) under the control of one or moreissuer processors (e.g., 145). When the user (101) has multiple consumeraccounts (e.g., 146), the portal (143) is to prompt the user (101) toassociate the offer (186) with one of the consumer accounts (e.g., 146).The transaction handler (103) and/or the portal (143) are to monitor theactivity in the consumer account (e.g., 146) with which the offer (186)is associated to detect a transaction that qualifies for the redemptionof the offer (186).

After the offer (186) is associated with account information (142), thetransaction handler (103) and/or the portal (143) is to monitor thetransaction activities in the corresponding consumer account (146) todetect one or more transactions that qualify for the redemption of theoffer (186). For example, if the user (101) uses the account information(142) in the transaction terminal (105) to pay for a qualified purchase,the transaction handler (103) and/or the portal (143) is to identify thetransaction from the multiplicity of transactions processed by thetransaction handler (103) and to provide the benefit to the user (101)in accordance with the offer (186).

For example, in one embodiment, when processing a transaction at thetransaction handler (103), the account information (142) involved in thetransaction is checked to identify the associated offers (e.g., 186). Ifone or more offers (e.g., 186) are identified for the transaction, thetransaction record for the transaction and/or other information aboutthe transaction is used to determine if the redemption conditions of theoffer (186) are met by the transaction. If the redemption conditions ofthe offer (186) are met, the transaction handler (103) is to redeem theoffer (186) on behalf of the user (101) via statement credits to theconsumer account (146) identified by the account information (142).

In one embodiment, when the user (101) has multiple consumer accounts(e.g., 146), the transaction handler (103) and/or the portal (143) is tomonitor the activity in the multiple consumer accounts to detect atransaction that qualifies for the redemption of the offer (186). When aqualified transaction is detected in a consumer account (146), thetransaction handler (103) is to provide the statement credits to theconsumer account (146) with which the offer (186) is associated todetect a transaction that qualifies for the redemption of the offer(186). In one embodiment, when the user (101) has multiple consumeraccounts (e.g., 146), the portal (143) is to allow the user (101) to notassociate the offer (186) with a particular consumer account; and when aqualified transaction is detected in an consumer account (146), thetransaction handler (103) is to provide the statement credits to theconsumer account (146) in which the qualified transaction occurred.

In one embodiment, the offer (186) is pre-registered in the datawarehouse (149) prior to the delivery of the advertisement (205) fromthe advertisement sever (201) to the point of the interaction (107). Forexample, in one embodiment, the merchant or advertiser is to use theportal (143) to store data representing the offer (186) in the datawarehouse (149). The data representing the offer (186) includes thespecification of the benefit of the offer (186) and/or conditions forthe redemption of the offer (186). In response, the portal (143)provides an identifier of the offer (186) to uniquely identify the offer(186) among a plurality of offers registered in the data warehouse(149). In one embodiment, the identifier of the offer (186) is includedin the link to the portal (143) embedded in the advertisement (205).Thus, when the link containing the identifier of the offer (186) isselected, the identifier of the offer (186) is provided from the pointof interaction (107) to the portal (143) to identify the offer (186).

In one embodiment, the pre-registration of the offer (186) in the datawarehouse (149) by the merchant is not required. For example, thedetails of the offer (186), such as the specification of the benefit andthe conditions for the redemption of the offer (186), are embedded inthe link from the advertisement (205) to the portal (143). In oneembodiment, the link from the advertisement (205) to the portal (143)includes a location from which the portal (143) can obtain the detailsof the offer (186). For example, in one embodiment, the details of theoffer (186) are stored in the merchant website (203) and provided by themerchant website (203) via a web service. For example, in oneembodiment, the details of the offer (186) are stored in theadvertisement server (201), or a third party web service.

In FIG. 10, the advertisement (205) is provided by an advertisementserver (201) that is distinct and separate from the portal (143). Forexample, the advertisement server (201) may be operated by a third partyadvertisement network, a search engine, a social networking website, anonline marketplace, etc. In one embodiment, the advertisement (205) ispresented in a web page of the advertisement server (201), such as inthe search results of a search engine. In one embodiment, theadvertisement (205) is presented in a web page of a third party mediachannel, such as a blog site, a social networking website, an onlinenewspaper, etc. In one embodiment, the advertisement (205) is providedby the portal (143).

FIGS. 11-14 illustrate user interfaces for multi-channel offerredemption according to one embodiment. In FIG. 11, the presentation ofcontent (407) in a website is illustrated. The content (407) may bepresented with one or more advertisements (e.g., 409 and 401). In FIG.11, the advertisement providing the offer (401) also has a portion (403)which can be selected using a cursor (405) (or other selectionmechanisms, such as touch screen, voice command, etc.)

In one embodiment, when the portion (403) is selected as in FIG. 11, auser interface (411) as illustrated in FIG. 12 is presented to allow theuser (101) to store the offer (401) on the web portal (143) (e.g., underthe control of the transaction handler (103)).

The user (101) may have already logged into the web portal (143) usingthe web browser running on the point of interaction (107) (e.g., asAshley illustrated in FIG. 12). After the user (101) has logged into theweb portal (143) using the web browser, the web portal (143) may store abrowser cookie in the web browser of the user (101) to identify the user(101). Based on the cookie returned from the web browser while the user(101) follows the link embedded in the portion (403) of theadvertisement, the user interface (411) prompts the user (101) toconfirm the storing of the offer (401) in the account.

In FIG. 12, the link (413) allows the user (101) to log into a differentaccount to store the offer (401), if the account as indicated by thebrowser cookie is not the account of the user (101), or not the desiredaccount of the user (101). If the user (101) does not already have anaccount with the web portal (143), the user (101) may follow the link(415 or 413) to sign into the web portal (143) as a new user.

In one embodiment, the user (101) has multiple financial transactioncards supported by the web portal (143). The web portal (143) allows theuser (101) to store the offer (401) with one of the financialtransaction cards, as illustrated in FIG. 13. For example, in oneembodiment, the user (101) may select the radio button using the cursor(405) to associate the offer (401) with the card having a number endingwith “7776.” When a transaction qualified for the offer (401) is madevia the card that is associated with the offer (401), the web portal(143) is to automatically process the offer (401) forfulfillment/redemption.

In another embodiment, the offer (401) is stored in association with oneor more (or all) of the cards identified in the account. Thus, the offer(401) can be redeemed in an automated way, when any of the associatedcards is used to make the payment for the purchases that qualify for theoffer (401).

FIG. 14 illustrates a user interface to allow the user (101) to sign inas an existing user or a new user of the web portal (143), when thebrowser does not have a valid browser cookie to identify the consumeraccount (146) of the user (101).

FIG. 15 illustrates a notification of offer redemption according to oneembodiment, in which a notification message (423) is sent to the mobilephone (421) of the user (101) via wireless telecommunication (e.g.,short message service (SMS), multi-media messaging service (MMS), email,instant message, voice message, etc.). In one embodiment, the message(423) is sent to the user (101) while the transaction submitted from thetransaction terminal (105) is being processed by the transaction handler(103).

FIG. 16 illustrates a method for offer redemption according to oneembodiment. In FIG. 16, a web portal (143) is designed to present (501)a user interface to a merchant to manage creation and distribution of anoffer to be presented in an advertisement. A computer associated withweb portal (143) is used to select (503) the advertisement forpresentation to the user (101) based on substantially real-timeactivities in an account of the user (101). A web server is used toprovide (505) the user (101) with the online advertisement having afirst portion (403) linked to an offer redemption portal and a secondportion (e.g., offer 401) optionally linked to a website of anadvertiser. When the user (101) selects the first portion (403) of theadvertisement, the web portal (143) presents (507) a user interface toallow the user (101) to associate the offer (401) with the account ofthe user (101). When the user (101) pays for a purchase as advertised bythe advertisement using the account, the transaction handler (103)processes (509) the transaction in the account of the user (101) for thepurchase and credits the account for redemption of the offer (401). Theweb portal (143) may provide (511) a mobile message to the user (101)about the redemption while processing the transaction for the purchaseand charge (513) the advertiser a predetermined fee for theadvertisement, in response to the redemption of the offer (401).

FIGS. 17-21 illustrate screen images of a user interface for offerredemption according to one embodiment. FIG. 17 illustrates an examplewhen a user (101) arrives at a publisher site like Media Channel ABC. Atthe Media Channel ABC website, the user (101) sees a Merchant XYZ offer(523) with the insert (521) linked to the portal (143). When the user(101) clicks the advertisement/offer (523) (not the insert (521)), theuser (101) is taken to the Merchant XYZ website, as illustrated in FIG.18. At the Merchant XYZ website, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the user(101) can click the “back” button (524) of the browser to return to theMedia Channel ABC webpage illustrated in FIG. 17. In FIG. 17, if theuser (101) clicks on the insert (521) and the user (101) is recognizedby the offer redemption site (e.g., via a browser cookie), the offerredemption site (e.g., hosted on the portal (143)) displays the web page(526) in a separate window as illustrated in FIG. 19, which allows theuser (101) to select a card of the user and save the offer (523) to theselected card. In FIG. 19, the advertisement/offer (523) is alsodisplayed in the user interface (526) to store the offer (523), butwithout the insert (521). Once the user (101) clicks the “save” button(527), the offer redemption site displays a confirmation page asillustrated in FIG. 20.

In FIG. 20, the user (101) can click the “close” button (529) to closethe window (533) and return to the Media Channel ABC website asillustrated in FIG. 20.

In one embodiment, the user (101) may also provide a phone number of amobile phone (421) to the offer redemption site (e.g., as a userselected preference to receive mobile notification of saved offers); andonce the offer (523) is saved with a card of the user (101), the offerredemption site can transmit a mobile message (537) to the user (101),as illustrated in FIG. 22.

If the user (101) is not recognized by the offer redemption site (e.g.,via a browser cookie), or the user (101) clicks the “not John” link(525) in FIG. 19 to sign in as a different user of the offer redemptionsite, the offer redemption site displays the web page (535) asillustrated in FIG. 21 to allow the user (101) to sign in and to havethe browser store a browser cookie to identify the user (101).

Further details and examples of one embodiment of offer fulfillment areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/113,710, filed May 23,2011, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2011/0288918, and entitled“Systems and Methods for Redemption of Offers,” the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Apply Offer

The transaction handler (103) of one embodiment is configured to processauthorization/settlement requests to enable to real time discount attransaction terminal (105) in accordance with the offer (186) stored, inassociation with the account data (111) of the user (101), in the datawarehouse (149) of the transaction handler (103).

FIG. 23 shows a system to apply a discount offer via an authorizationrequest according to one embodiment. In FIG. 23, the authorizationrequest (168) from the acquirer processor (147) to the issuer processor(145) is modified by the transaction handler (103) to apply the offer(186) to the transaction that satisfies the requirements of the offer(186).

In FIG. 23, after the transaction handler (103) receives theauthorization request (168) from the acquirer processor (147), thetransaction handler (103) determines whether the offer (186) isapplicable to the transaction associated with the authorization request(168). If the offer (186) is applicable, the transaction handler (103)changes the transaction amount A (601) to the transaction amount B (605)in the authorization request (168) transmitted to the issuer processor(145). If the issuer processor (145) authorizes the transaction amount B(605), the transaction handler (103) transmits to the transactionterminal (105), via the acquirer processor (147), the authorizationresponse (138) to indicate the approval of the transaction amount B(605) and the applicable offer (186). The transaction terminal (105) isconfigured to accept the modified transaction amount B (605) and printthe receipt that shows the applicable offer (186) and the application ofthe offer (186) to the transaction.

FIG. 24 shows a system to apply a discount offer via an authorizationresponse according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, theauthorization amount is not modified by transaction handler (103) duringpropagation of the authorization request (168) from the acquirerprocessor (147) to the issuer processor (145). In FIG. 24, theauthorization response (138) from the issuer processor (145) to theacquirer processor (147) is modified by the transaction handler (103) toapply the offer (186) to the transaction that satisfies the requirementsof the offer (186).

In FIG. 24, after the transaction handler (103) receives theauthorization response (138) from the issuer processor (145), thetransaction handler (103) determines whether the offer (186) isapplicable to the transaction associated with the authorization response(138). If the offer (186) is applicable, the transaction handler (103)changes the transaction amount A (601) to the transaction amount B (605)in the authorization response (138) transmitted to the acquirerprocessor (147). In the embodiment, the authorization response (138)provided to the transaction terminal (105), via the acquirer processor(147), is further configured by the transaction handler (103) toindicate the applicable offer (186). The transaction terminal (105) isconfigured to accept the modify the transaction amount B (605), which isdifferent from the initial transaction amount A (601) submitted by thetransaction terminal (105) in the authorization request (168) to theacquirer processor (147), and print the receipt that shows theapplicable offer (186) and the application of the offer (186) to thetransaction.

In FIGS. 23 and 24, the transaction handler (103) is configured to applythe offer (186) during the authorization phase of the transaction tocause the receipt presented by the transaction terminal (105) to showthat the benefit of the offer (186) has been applied to the transaction.For example, in one embodiment, the transaction terminal (105) isconfigured to provide a user interface that allows the merchant toaccept the modified transaction amount (605) in view of the applicableoffer (186) identified in the authorization response (138).

In one embodiment, the issuer processor (145) is configured to apply theoffer (186) by change the authorization response (138).

In one embodiment, the acquirer processor (147) is configured to applythe offer (186) by change the authorization response (138) or theauthorization request (168) (e.g., after receiving the authorizationrequest (168) from the transaction terminal (105) and beforetransmitting the authorization request (168) having the modifiedtransaction amount (605) to the transaction handler (103)).

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) further uses acommunication reference (e.g., a mobile phone number, an email address,an instant message user identifier) that is stored in the account data(111) to provide a notification to the user (101) about the applicableoffer (186) and the benefit of the offer (186) that has been applied tothe transaction, in parallel with the processing of the authorizationrequest (168) and/or the authorization response (138). Details andexamples of using such a communication reference for notification in oneembodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/152,186,filed Jun. 2, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,274, and entitled “Systemsand Methods to Provide Messages in Real-Time with TransactionProcessing,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is configured to detectthe applicability of the offer (186) during the settlement phase of thetransaction and apply the applicable offer (186) during settlement ofthe transaction.

FIG. 25 shows a system to provide the benefit of an offer according toone embodiment. In FIG. 25, the data warehouse (149) coupled with thetransaction handler (103) and the portal (143) is configured to storedata associating the offer (186) with the account information (142) ofthe consumer account (146).

In one embodiment, the portal (143) is configured with a user interfaceto allow the user (101) of the consumer account (146) specify acommunication reference (611) that is stored in association with theaccount information (142). If the user (101) provides the communicationreference (611) for association with the account information (142), theuser (101) is provided with notification services using thecommunication reference (611). Examples of the communication reference(611) include a phone number for notification via voice mails, a mobilephone number for notification via short message service or mobileapplication, an email address for notification via emails, a user namein an instant messaging system for notification via instant messages, amember ID of a social networking site for notification via messagestransmitted via the social networking site, etc.

In FIG. 25, the data warehouse (149) is configured with one or moretrigger records associated with the offer (186). The trigger record(613) specifies a set of conditions and identifies an action, which isto be performed when a transaction processed by the transaction handler(103) satisfies the set of conditions.

In FIG. 25, when the account information (142) is used at thetransaction terminal (105) (e.g., a point of sales device) to initiate atransaction in the consumer account (146), the transaction terminal(105) communicates with the acquirer processor (147) to generate anauthorization request (168). The transaction handler (103) is configuredto receive the authorization request (168) from the acquirer processor(147) and identify the issuer processor (145) based on the accountinformation (142).

In FIG. 25, transaction handler (103) is configured to determine whetheror not the offer (186) is applicable to the authorization request (168),after receiving the authorization request (168) from the acquirerprocessor (147) and prior to sending the corresponding authorizationrequest (168) to the issuer processor (145) associated with the accountinformation (142). If the offer is applicable to the transactionassociated with the authorization request (168), the transaction handler(103) changes the transaction amount according to the offer (186) anduses the changed transaction amount to communicate with the issuerprocessor (145) for the authorization of the transaction, in a way asillustrated in FIG. 23.

In FIG. 25, the transaction terminal (105) is configured to present theinformation about the offer (186) provided in the authorization response(138). Thus, the user (101) can verify the application of the offer(186) to the transaction from the receipt produced by the transactionterminal (105). For example, the transaction terminal (105) uses aprinter to produce a paper receipt.

In one embodiment, when the authorization response (138) received fromthe issuer processor (145) indicates the approval of the transactionthat receives the benefit of the offer (186), the portal (143) isconfigured to use the communication reference (611) to send anotification to the point of interaction (107) of the user (101). Thenotification includes at least some of the above discussed informationabout the offer (186) that is applied to the authorization request (168)in the authorization response (168).

In FIG. 25, the application of the offer (186) is implemented via thetransaction handler (103). Alternatively, the application of the offer(186) can be implemented in the acquirer processor (147), or the issuerprocessor (145), in a way similar to that described above in connectionwith the transaction handler (103).

FIG. 26 shows a method to provide the benefit of an offer according toone embodiment. In FIG. 26, a computing apparatus is configured to store(621) data associating an offer (186) and a consumer account (146) thatis under control of an issuer processor (145) and associated with acommunication reference (611), and receive (623) an authorizationrequest (168) for the consumer account (146) from an acquirer processor(147). In response to the authorization request (168), the computingapparatus determines (625) whether the offer (186) is applicable; and ifso, the computing apparatus adjusts (627) the transaction amountaccording to the offer (186) and communicates (629) with the issuerprocessor (145) to obtain authorization response (138).

Prior to communicating (635) the authorization response (138) to thetransaction terminal (105) via the acquirer processor (138), thecomputing apparatus is configured to determine whether the offer (186)is applicable; and if so, the computing apparatus configures (633) theauthorization response to identify the offer (186) and the benefitapplied to the transaction in accordance with the offer (186) (e.g., thereduced transaction amount).

In one embodiment, when the authorization response approves thetransaction, the computing apparatus is configured to optionallytransmit (637) a notification about the offer (186) to the point ofinteraction (107) of the user (101) using the communication reference(611).

Further details and examples of applying offer benefit via adjustingtransaction amount in some embodiments are provided in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/676,535, filed Nov. 14, 2012 and entitled“Systems and Methods to Provide Discount at Point of Sales Terminals,”the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Variations

Some embodiments use more or fewer components than those illustrated inthe figures.

In one embodiment, at least some of the profile generator (121),correlator (117), profile selector (129), and advertisement selector(133) are controlled by the entity that operates the transaction handler(103). In another embodiment, at least some of the profile generator(121), correlator (117), profile selector (129), and advertisementselector (133) are not controlled by the entity that operates thetransaction handler (103).

In one embodiment, the products and/or services purchased by the user(101) are also identified by the information transmitted from themerchants or service providers. Thus, the transaction data (109) mayinclude identification of the individual products and/or services, whichallows the profile generator (121) to generate transaction profiles(127) with fine granularity or resolution. In one embodiment, thegranularity or resolution may be at a level of distinct products andservices that can be purchased (e.g., stock-keeping unit (SKU) level),or category or type of products or services, or vendor of products orservices, etc.

In one embodiment, the entity operating the transaction handler (103)provides the intelligence information in real time as the request forthe intelligence information occurs. In other embodiments, the entityoperating the transaction handler (103) may provide the intelligenceinformation in batch mode. The intelligence information can be deliveredvia online communications (e.g., via an application programminginterface (API) on a website, or other information server), or viaphysical transportation of a computer readable media that stores thedata representing the intelligence information.

In one embodiment, the intelligence information is communicated tovarious entities in the system in a way similar to, and/or in parallelwith the information flow in the transaction system to move money. Thetransaction handler (103) routes the information in the same way itroutes the currency involved in the transactions.

In one embodiment, the portal (143) provides a user interface to allowthe user (101) to select items offered on different merchant websitesand store the selected items in a wish list for comparison, reviewing,purchasing, tracking, etc. The information collected via the wish listcan be used to improve the transaction profiles (127) and deriveintelligence on the needs of the user (101); and targeted advertisementscan be delivered to the user (101) via the wish list user interfaceprovided by the portal (143). Examples of user interface systems tomanage wish lists are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/683,802, filed Jan. 7, 2010, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2010/0174623, and entitled “System and Method for Managing Items ofInterest Selected from Online Merchants,” the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

Aggregated Spending Profile

In one embodiment, the characteristics of transaction patterns ofcustomers are profiled via clusters, factors, and/or categories ofpurchases. The transaction data (109) may include transaction records(301); and in one embodiment, an aggregated spending profile (341) isgenerated from the transaction records (301), in a way illustrated inFIG. 2, to summarize the spending behavior reflected in the transactionrecords (301).

In FIG. 2, each of the transaction records (301) is for a particulartransaction processed by the transaction handler (103). Each of thetransaction records (301) provides information about the particulartransaction, such as the account number (302) of the consumer account(146) used to pay for the purchase, the date (303) (and/or time) of thetransaction, the amount (304) of the transaction, the ID (305) of themerchant who receives the payment, the category (306) of the merchant,the channel (307) through which the purchase was made, etc. Examples ofchannels include online, offline in-store, via phone, etc. In oneembodiment, the transaction records (301) may further include a field toidentify a type of transaction, such as card-present, card-not-present,etc.

A “card-present” transaction typically involves physically presentingthe account identification device (141), such as a financial transactioncard, to the merchant (e.g., via swiping a credit card at a POS terminalof a merchant); and a “card-not-present” transaction typically involvespresenting the account information (142) of the consumer account (146)to the merchant to identify the consumer account (146) withoutphysically presenting the account identification device (141) to themerchant or the transaction terminal (105).

The transaction records (301) of one embodiment may further includedetails about the products and/or services involved in the purchase.

When there is voluminous data representing the transaction records(301), the spending patterns reflected in the transaction records (301)can be difficult to recognize by an ordinary person.

In FIG. 2, the voluminous transaction records (301) are summarized (335)into aggregated spending profiles (e.g., 341) to concisely present thestatistical spending characteristics reflected in the transactionrecords (301). The aggregated spending profile (341) uses values derivedfrom statistical analysis to present the statistical characteristics oftransaction records (301) of an entity in a way easy to understand by anordinary person.

In FIG. 2, the transaction records (301) are summarized (335) via factoranalysis (327) to condense the variables (e.g., 313, 315) and viacluster analysis (329) to segregate entities by spending patterns.

In FIG. 2, a set of variables (e.g., 311, 313, 315) are defined based onthe parameters recorded in the transaction records (301). The variables(e.g., 311, 313, and 315) are defined in a way to have meanings easilyunderstood by an ordinary person. For example, variables (311) measurethe aggregated spending in super categories; variables (313) measure thespending frequencies in various areas; and variables (315) measure thespending amounts in various areas. In one embodiment, each of the areasis identified by a merchant category (306) (e.g., as represented by amerchant category code (MCC), a North American Industry ClassificationSystem (NAILS) code, or a similarly standardized category code). Inother embodiments, an area may be identified by a product category, aSKU number, etc.

Examples of the spending frequency variables (313) and spending amountvariables (315) defined for various merchant categories (e.g., 306) inone embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/537,566, filed Aug. 7, 2009, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2010/0306029, and entitled “Cardholder Clusters,” and in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/777,173, filed May 10, 2010, assigned U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2010/0306032, and entitled “Systems and Methods toSummarize Transaction Data,” the disclosures of which applications arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

In FIG. 2, the aggregation (317) includes the application of thedefinitions (309) for these variables (e.g., 311, 313, and 315) to thetransaction records (301) to generate the variable values (321). Thetransaction records (301) are aggregated to generate aggregatedmeasurements (e.g., variable values (321)) that are not specific to aparticular transaction, such as frequencies of purchases made withdifferent merchants or different groups of merchants, the amounts spentwith different merchants or different groups of merchants, and thenumber of unique purchases across different merchants or differentgroups of merchants, etc. The aggregation (317) can be performed for aparticular time period and for entities at various levels.

The transaction records (301) can be aggregated according to a buyingentity, or a selling entity. For example, the aggregation (317) can beperformed at account level, person level, family level, company level,neighborhood level, city level, region level, etc. to analyze thespending patterns across various areas (e.g., sellers, products orservices) for the respective aggregated buying entity. For example, thetransaction records (301) for a particular merchant having transactionswith multiple accounts can be aggregated for a merchant level analysis.For example, the transaction records (301) for a particular merchantgroup can be aggregated for a merchant group level analysis. Theaggregation (317) can be formed separately for different types oftransactions, such as transactions made online, offline, via phone,and/or “card-present” transactions vs. “card-not-present” transactions,which can be used to identify the spending pattern differences amongdifferent types of transactions.

In FIG. 2, the variable values (e.g., 323, 324, . . . , 325) associatedwith an entity ID (322) are considered the random samples of therespective variables (e.g., 311, 313, 315), sampled for the instance ofan entity represented by the entity ID (322). Statistical analyses(e.g., factor analysis (327) and cluster analysis (329)) are performedto identify the patterns and correlations in the random samples.

Once the cluster definitions (333) are obtained from the clusteranalysis (329), the identity of the cluster (e.g., cluster ID (343))that contains the entity ID (322) can be used to characterize spendingbehavior of the entity represented by the entity ID (322). The entitiesin the same cluster are considered to have similar spending behaviors.

In FIG. 2, the random variables (e.g., 313 and 315) as defined by thedefinitions (309) have certain degrees of correlation and are notindependent from each other. For example, merchants of differentmerchant categories (e.g., 306) may have overlapping business, or havecertain business relationships. For example, certain products and/orservices of certain merchants have cause and effect relationships. Forexample, certain products and/or services of certain merchants aremutually exclusive to a certain degree (e.g., a purchase from onemerchant may have a level of probability to exclude the user (101) frommaking a purchase from another merchant). Such relationships may becomplex and difficult to quantify by merely inspecting the categories.Further, such relationships may shift over time as the economy changes.

In FIG. 2, a factor analysis (327) is performed to reduce the redundancyand/or correlation among the variables (e.g., 313, 315). The factoranalysis (327) identifies the definitions (331) for factors, each ofwhich represents a combination of the variables (e.g., 313, 315). Afactor from the factor analysis (327) is a linear combination of aplurality of the aggregated measurements (e.g., variables (313, 315))determined for various areas (e.g., merchants or merchant categories,products or product categories). Once the relationship between thefactors and the aggregated measurements is determined via factoranalysis, the values for the factors can be determined from the linearcombinations of the aggregated measurements and be used in a transactionprofile (127 or 341) to provide information on the behavior of theentity represented by the entity ID (e.g., an account, an individual, afamily).

Once the factor definitions (331) are obtained from the factor analysis(327), the factor definitions (331) can be applied to the variablevalues (321) to determine factor values (344) for the aggregatedspending profile (341). Since redundancy and correlation are reduced inthe factors, the number of factors is typically much smaller than thenumber of the original variables (e.g., 313, 315). Thus, the factorvalues (344) represent the concise summary of the original variables(e.g., 313, 315).

For example, there may be thousands of variables on spending frequencyand amount for different merchant categories; and the factor analysis(327) can reduce the factor number to less than one hundred (and evenless than twenty). In one example, a twelve-factor solution is obtained,which allows the use of twelve factors to combine the thousands of theoriginal variables (313, 315); and thus, the spending behavior inthousands of merchant categories can be summarized via twelve factorvalues (344). In one embodiment, each factor is combination of at leastfour variables; and a typical variable has contributions to more thanone factor.

In FIG. 2, an aggregated spending profile (341) for an entityrepresented by an entity ID (e.g., 322) includes the cluster ID (343)and factor values (344) determined based on the cluster definitions(333) and the factor definitions (331). The aggregated spending profile(341) may further include other statistical parameters, such asdiversity index (342), channel distribution (345), category distribution(346), zip code (347), etc., as further discussed below.

In general, an aggregated spending profile (341) may include more orfewer fields than those illustrated in FIG. 2. For example, in oneembodiment, the aggregated spending profile (341) further includes anaggregated spending amount for a period of time (e.g., the past twelvemonths); in another embodiment, the aggregated spending profile (341)does not include the category distribution (346); and in a furtherembodiment, the aggregated spending profile (341) may include a set ofdistance measures to the centroids of the clusters.

FIG. 3 shows a method to generate an aggregated spending profileaccording to one embodiment. In FIG. 3, computation models areestablished (351) for variables (e.g., 311, 313, and 315). In oneembodiment, the variables are defined in a way to capture certainaspects of the spending statistics, such as frequency, amount, etc.

In FIG. 3, data from related accounts are combined (353);recurrent/installment transactions are combined (355); and account dataare selected (357) according to a set of criteria related to activity,consistency, diversity, etc.

In FIG. 3, the computation models (e.g., as represented by the variabledefinitions (309)) are applied (359) to the remaining account data(e.g., transaction records (301)) to obtain data samples for thevariables. The data points associated with the entities, other thanthose whose transactions fail to meet the minimum requirements foractivity, consistency, diversity, etc., are used in factor analysis(327) and cluster analysis (329).

In FIG. 3, the data samples (e.g., variable values (321)) are used toperform (361) factor analysis (327) to identify factor solutions (e.g.,factor definitions (331)). The factor solutions can be adjusted (363) toimprove similarity in factor values of different sets of transactiondata (109).

The data samples can also be used to perform (365) cluster analysis(329) to identify cluster solutions (e.g., cluster definitions (333)).The cluster solutions can be adjusted (367) to improve similarity incluster identifications based on different sets of transaction data(109). For example, cluster definitions (333) can be applied to thetransactions in the time period under analysis (e.g., the past twelvemonths) and be applied separately to the transactions in a prior timeperiod (e.g., the twelve months before the past twelve months) to obtaintwo sets of cluster identifications for various entities. The clusterdefinitions (333) can be adjusted to improve the correlation between thetwo set of cluster identifications.

Optionally, human understandable characteristics of the factors andclusters are identified (369) to name the factors and clusters. Forexample, when the spending behavior of a cluster appears to be thebehavior of an internet loyalist, the cluster can be named “internetloyalist” such that if a cardholder is found to be in the “internetloyalist” cluster, the spending preferences and patterns of thecardholder can be easily perceived.

In one embodiment, the factor analysis (327) and the cluster analysis(329) are performed periodically (e.g., once a year, or six months) toupdate the factor definitions (331) and the cluster definitions (333),which may change as the economy and the society change over time.

In FIG. 3, transaction data (109) are summarized (371) using the factorsolutions and cluster solutions to generate the aggregated spendingprofile (341). The aggregated spending profile (341) can be updated morefrequently than the factor solutions and cluster solutions, when the newtransaction data (109) becomes available. For example, the aggregatedspending profile (341) may be updated quarterly or monthly.

Details about aggregated spending profile (341) in one embodiment areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/777,173, filed May 10,2010, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0306032, and entitled“Systems and Methods to Summarize Transaction Data,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, a set of profiles are generated from the transactiondata for a plurality of geographical regions, such as mutuallyexclusive, non-overlapping regions defined by postal codes. Transactionsof account holders residing in the regions are aggregated according tomerchant categories for the respective regions and subsequentlynormalized to obtain preference indicators that reveal the spendingpreferences of the account holders in the respective regions. Each ofthe profiles for respective regions is based on a plurality of differentaccount holders and/or households to avoid revealing private informationabout individual account holders or families. Further, the profiles areconstructed in a way to make it impossible to reverse calculate thetransaction amounts. Further details and examples about profilesconstructed for regions in one embodiment are provided in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/675,301, filed Nov. 13, 2012 and entitled“Systems and Methods to Summarize Transaction data,” the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Transaction Processing and Data

FIG. 4 shows a system to provide information and/or services based ontransaction data (109) according to one embodiment.

In FIG. 4, the transaction handler (103) is coupled between an issuerprocessor (145) and an acquirer processor (147) to facilitateauthorization and settlement of transactions between a consumer account(146) and a merchant account (148). The transaction handler (103)records the transactions in the data warehouse (149). The portal (143)is coupled to the data warehouse (149) to provide information based onthe transaction records (301), such as the transaction profiles (127),aggregated spending profile (341), offer redemption notification, etc.The portal (143) may be implemented as a web portal, a telephonegateway, a file/data server, etc.

In FIG. 4, the transaction terminal (105) initiates the transaction fora user (101) (e.g., a customer) for processing by a transaction handler(103). The transaction handler (103) processes the transaction andstores transaction data (109) about the transaction, in connection withaccount data (111), such as the account profile of an account of theuser (101). The account data (111) may further include data about theuser (101), collected from issuers or merchants, and/or other sources,such as social networks, credit bureaus, merchant provided information,address information, etc. In one embodiment, a transaction may beinitiated by a server (e.g., based on a stored schedule for recurrentpayments).

The accumulated transaction data (109) and the corresponding accountdata (111) are used to generate intelligence information about thepurchase behavior, pattern, preference, tendency, frequency, trend,amount and/or propensity of the users (e.g., 101), as individuals or asa member of a group. The intelligence information can then be used togenerate, identify and/or select targeted advertisements forpresentation to the user (101) on the point of interaction (107), duringa transaction, after a transaction, or when other opportunities arise.

In FIG. 4, the consumer account (146) is under the control of the issuerprocessor (145). The consumer account (146) may be owned by anindividual, or an organization such as a business, a school, etc. Theconsumer account (146) may be a credit account, a debit account, or astored value account. The issuer may provide the consumer (e.g., user(101)) an account identification device (141) to identify the consumeraccount (146) using the account information (142). The respectiveconsumer of the account (146) can be called an account holder or acardholder, even when the consumer is not physically issued a card, orthe account identification device (141), in one embodiment. The issuerprocessor (145) is to charge the consumer account (146) to pay forpurchases.

The account identification device (141) of one embodiment is a plasticcard having a magnetic strip storing account information (142)identifying the consumer account (146) and/or the issuer processor(145). Alternatively, the account identification device (141) is asmartcard having an integrated circuit chip storing at least the accountinformation (142). The account identification device (141) mayoptionally include a mobile phone having an integrated smartcard.

The account information (142) may be printed or embossed on the accountidentification device (141). The account information (142) may beprinted as a bar code to allow the transaction terminal (105) to readthe information via an optical scanner. The account information (142)may be stored in a memory of the account identification device (141) andconfigured to be read via wireless, contactless communications, such asnear field communications via magnetic field coupling, infraredcommunications, or radio frequency communications. Alternatively, thetransaction terminal (105) may require contact with the accountidentification device (141) to read the account information (142) (e.g.,by reading the magnetic strip of a card with a magnetic strip reader).

The transaction terminal (105) is configured to transmit anauthorization request message to the acquirer processor (147). Theauthorization request includes the account information (142), an amountof payment, and information about the merchant (e.g., an indication ofthe merchant account (148)). The acquirer processor (147) requests thetransaction handler (103) to process the authorization request, based onthe account information (142) received in the transaction terminal(105). The transaction handler (103) routes the authorization request tothe issuer processor (145) and may process and respond to theauthorization request when the issuer processor (145) is not available.The issuer processor (145) determines whether to authorize thetransaction based at least in part on a balance of the consumer account(146).

The transaction handler (103), the issuer processor (145), and theacquirer processor (147) may each include a subsystem to identify therisk in the transaction and may reject the transaction based on the riskassessment.

The account identification device (141) may include security features toprevent unauthorized uses of the consumer account (146), such as a logoto show the authenticity of the account identification device (141),encryption to protect the account information (142), etc.

The transaction terminal (105) of one embodiment is configured tointeract with the account identification device (141) to obtain theaccount information (142) that identifies the consumer account (146)and/or the issuer processor (145). The transaction terminal (105)communicates with the acquirer processor (147) that controls themerchant account (148) of a merchant. The transaction terminal (105) maycommunicate with the acquirer processor (147) via a data communicationconnection, such as a telephone connection, an Internet connection, etc.The acquirer processor (147) is to collect payments into the merchantaccount (148) on behalf of the merchant.

In one embodiment, the transaction terminal (105) is a POS terminal at atraditional, offline, “brick and mortar” retail store. In anotherembodiment, the transaction terminal (105) is an online server thatreceives account information (142) of the consumer account (146) fromthe user (101) through a web connection. In one embodiment, the user(101) may provide account information (142) through a telephone call,via verbal communications with a representative of the merchant; and therepresentative enters the account information (142) into the transactionterminal (105) to initiate the transaction.

In one embodiment, the account information (142) can be entered directlyinto the transaction terminal (105) to make payment from the consumeraccount (146), without having to physically present the accountidentification device (141). When a transaction is initiated withoutphysically presenting an account identification device (141), thetransaction is classified as a “card-not-present” (CNP) transaction.

In general, the issuer processor (145) may control more than oneconsumer account (146); the acquirer processor (147) may control morethan one merchant account (148); and the transaction handler (103) isconnected between a plurality of issuer processors (e.g., 145) and aplurality of acquirer processors (e.g., 147). An entity (e.g., bank) mayoperate both an issuer processor (145) and an acquirer processor (147).

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103), the issuer processor(145), the acquirer processor (147), the transaction terminal (105), theportal (143), and other devices and/or services accessing the portal(143) are connected via communications networks, such as local areanetworks, cellular telecommunications networks, wireless wide areanetworks, wireless local area networks, an intranet, and Internet.Dedicated communication channels may be used between the transactionhandler (103) and the issuer processor (145), between the transactionhandler (103) and the acquirer processor (147), and/or between theportal (143) and the transaction handler (103).

In FIG. 4, the transaction handler (103) uses the data warehouse (149)to store the records about the transactions, such as the transactionrecords (301) or transaction data (109).

Typically, the transaction handler (103) is implemented using a powerfulcomputer, or cluster of computers functioning as a unit, controlled byinstructions stored on a computer readable medium. The transactionhandler (103) is configured to support and deliver authorizationservices, exception file services, and clearing and settlement services.The transaction handler (103) has a subsystem to process authorizationrequests and another subsystem to perform clearing and settlementservices. The transaction handler (103) is configured to processdifferent types of transactions, such credit card transactions, debitcard transactions, prepaid card transactions, and other types ofcommercial transactions. The transaction handler (103) interconnects theissuer processors (e.g., 145) and the acquirer processor (e.g., 147) tofacilitate payment communications.

In FIG. 4, the transaction terminal (105) is configured to submit theauthorized transactions to the acquirer processor (147) for settlement.The amount for the settlement may be different from the amount specifiedin the authorization request. The transaction handler (103) is coupledbetween the issuer processor (145) and the acquirer processor (147) tofacilitate the clearing and settling of the transaction. Clearingincludes the exchange of financial information between the issuerprocessor (145) and the acquirer processor (147); and settlementincludes the exchange of funds.

In FIG. 4, the issuer processor (145) is configured to provide funds tomake payments on behalf of the consumer account (146). The acquirerprocessor (147) is to receive the funds on behalf of the merchantaccount (148). The issuer processor (145) and the acquirer processor(147) communicate with the transaction handler (103) to coordinate thetransfer of funds for the transaction. The funds can be transferredelectronically.

The transaction terminal (105) may submit a transaction directly forsettlement, without having to separately submit an authorizationrequest.

In one embodiment, the portal (143) provides a user interface to allowthe user (101) to organize the transactions in one or more consumeraccounts (146) of the user with one or more issuers. The user (101) mayorganize the transactions using information and/or categories identifiedin the transaction records (301), such as merchant category (306),transaction date (303), amount (304), etc. Examples and techniques inone embodiment are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/378,215, filed Mar. 16, 2006, assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2007/0055597, and entitled “Method and System for Manipulating PurchaseInformation,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

In one embodiment, the portal (143) provides transaction basedstatistics, such as indicators for retail spending monitoring,indicators for merchant benchmarking, industry/market segmentation,indicators of spending patterns, etc. Further examples can be found inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/191,796, filed Aug. 14, 2008,assigned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0048884, and entitled “MerchantBenchmarking Tool,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/940,562, filedNov. 5, 2010, and U.S. Pat. App. Ser. No. 12/940,664, filed Nov. 5,2010, the disclosures of which applications are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

Transaction Terminal

FIG. 5 illustrates a transaction terminal according to one embodiment.The transaction terminal (105) illustrated in FIG. 5 can be used invarious systems discussed in connection with other figures of thepresent disclosure. In FIG. 5, the transaction terminal (105) isconfigured to interact with an account identification device (141) toobtain account information (142) about the consumer account (146).

In one embodiment, the transaction terminal (105) includes a memory(167) coupled to the processor (151), which controls the operations of areader (163), an input device (153), an output device (165) and anetwork interface (161). The memory (167) may store instructions for theprocessor (151) and/or data, such as an identification that isassociated with the merchant account (148).

In one embodiment, the reader (163) includes a magnetic strip reader. Inanother embodiment, the reader (163) includes a contactless reader, suchas a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a near fieldcommunications (NFC) device configured to read data via magnetic fieldcoupling (in accordance with ISO standard 14443/NFC), a Bluetoothtransceiver, a WiFi transceiver, an infrared transceiver, a laserscanner, etc.

In one embodiment, the input device (153) includes key buttons that canbe used to enter the account information (142) directly into thetransaction terminal (105) without the physical presence of the accountidentification device (141). The input device (153) can be configured toprovide further information to initiate a transaction, such as apersonal identification number (PIN), password, zip code, etc. that maybe used to access the account identification device (141), or incombination with the account information (142) obtained from the accountidentification device (141).

In one embodiment, the output device (165) may include a display, aspeaker, and/or a printer to present information, such as the result ofan authorization request, a receipt for the transaction, anadvertisement, etc.

In one embodiment, the network interface (161) is configured tocommunicate with the acquirer processor (147) via a telephoneconnection, an Internet connection, or a dedicated data communicationchannel.

In one embodiment, the instructions stored in the memory (167) areconfigured at least to cause the transaction terminal (105) to send anauthorization request message to the acquirer processor (147) toinitiate a transaction. The transaction terminal (105) may or may notsend a separate request for the clearing and settling of thetransaction. The instructions stored in the memory (167) are alsoconfigured to cause the transaction terminal (105) to perform othertypes of functions discussed in this description.

In one embodiment, a transaction terminal (105) may have fewercomponents than those illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, in oneembodiment, the transaction terminal (105) is configured for“card-not-present” transactions; and the transaction terminal (105) doesnot have a reader (163).

In one embodiment, a transaction terminal (105) may have more componentsthan those illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, in one embodiment, thetransaction terminal (105) is an ATM machine, which includes componentsto dispense cash under certain conditions.

Account Identification Device

FIG. 6 illustrates an account identifying device according to oneembodiment. In FIG. 6, the account identification device (141) isconfigured to carry account information (142) that identifies theconsumer account (146).

In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) includes amemory (167) coupled to the processor (151), which controls theoperations of a communication device (159), an input device (153), anaudio device (157) and a display device (155). The memory (167) maystore instructions for the processor (151) and/or data, such as theaccount information (142) associated with the consumer account (146).

In one embodiment, the account information (142) includes an identifieridentifying the issuer (and thus the issuer processor (145)) among aplurality of issuers, and an identifier identifying the consumer accountamong a plurality of consumer accounts controlled by the issuerprocessor (145). The account information (142) may include an expirationdate of the account identification device (141), the name of theconsumer holding the consumer account (146), and/or an identifieridentifying the account identification device (141) among a plurality ofaccount identification devices associated with the consumer account(146).

In one embodiment, the account information (142) may further include aloyalty program account number, accumulated rewards of the consumer inthe loyalty program, an address of the consumer, a balance of theconsumer account (146), transit information (e.g., a subway or trainpass), access information (e.g., access badges), and/or consumerinformation (e.g., name, date of birth), etc.

In one embodiment, the memory includes a nonvolatile memory, such asmagnetic strip, a memory chip, a flash memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM),etc. to store the account information (142).

In one embodiment, the information stored in the memory (167) of theaccount identification device (141) may also be in the form of datatracks that are traditionally associated with credits cards. Such tracksinclude Track 1 and Track 2. Track 1 (“International Air TransportAssociation”) stores more information than Track 2, and contains thecardholder's name as well as the account number and other discretionarydata. Track 1 is sometimes used by airlines when securing reservationswith a credit card. Track 2 (“American Banking Association”) iscurrently most commonly used and is read by ATMs and credit cardcheckers. The ABA (American Banking Association) designed thespecifications of Track 1 and banks abide by it. It contains thecardholder's account number, encrypted PIN, and other discretionarydata.

In one embodiment, the communication device (159) includes asemiconductor chip to implement a transceiver for communication with thereader (163) and an antenna to provide and/or receive wireless signals.

In one embodiment, the communication device (159) is configured tocommunicate with the reader (163). The communication device (159) mayinclude a transmitter to transmit the account information (142) viawireless transmissions, such as radio frequency signals, magneticcoupling, or infrared, Bluetooth or WiFi signals, etc.

In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) is in theform of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. The inputdevice (153) can be used to provide input to the processor (151) tocontrol the operation of the account identification device (141); andthe audio device (157) and the display device (155) may present statusinformation and/or other information, such as advertisements or offers.The account identification device (141) may include further componentsthat are not shown in FIG. 6, such as a cellular communicationssubsystem.

In one embodiment, the communication device (159) may access the accountinformation (142) stored on the memory (167) without going through theprocessor (151).

In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) has fewercomponents than those illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, an accountidentification device (141) does not have the input device (153), theaudio device (157) and the display device (155) in one embodiment; andin another embodiment, an account identification device (141) does nothave components (151-159).

For example, in one embodiment, an account identification device (141)is in the form of a debit card, a credit card, a smartcard, or aconsumer device that has optional features such as magnetic strips, orsmartcards.

An example of an account identification device (141) is a magnetic stripattached to a plastic substrate in the form of a card. The magneticstrip is used as the memory (167) of the account identification device(141) to provide the account information (142). Consumer information,such as account number, expiration date, and consumer name may beprinted or embossed on the card. A semiconductor chip implementing thememory (167) and the communication device (159) may also be embedded inthe plastic card to provide account information (142) in one embodiment.In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) has thesemiconductor chip but not the magnetic strip.

In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) is integratedwith a security device, such as an access card, a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, a security card, a transponder, etc.

In one embodiment, the account identification device (141) is a handheldand compact device. In one embodiment, the account identification device(141) has a size suitable to be placed in a wallet or pocket of theconsumer.

Some examples of an account identification device (141) include a creditcard, a debit card, a stored value device, a payment card, a gift card,a smartcard, a smart media card, a payroll card, a health care card, awrist band, a keychain device, a supermarket discount card, atransponder, and a machine readable medium containing accountinformation (142).

Point of Interaction

In one embodiment, the point of interaction (107) is to provide anadvertisement to the user (101), or to provide information derived fromthe transaction data (109) to the user (101).

In one embodiment, an advertisement is a marketing interaction which mayinclude an announcement and/or an offer of a benefit, such as adiscount, incentive, reward, coupon, gift, cash back, or opportunity(e.g., special ticket/admission). An advertisement may include an offerof a product or service, an announcement of a product or service, or apresentation of a brand of products or services, or a notice of events,facts, opinions, etc. The advertisements can be presented in text,graphics, audio, video, or animation, and as printed matter, webcontent, interactive media, etc. An advertisement may be presented inresponse to the presence of a financial transaction card, or in responseto a financial transaction card being used to make a financialtransaction, or in response to other user activities, such as browsing aweb page, submitting a search request, communicating online, entering awireless communication zone, etc. In one embodiment, the presentation ofadvertisements may be not a result of a user action.

In one embodiment, the point of interaction (107) can be one of variousendpoints of the transaction network, such as point of sale (POS)terminals, automated teller machines (ATMs), electronic kiosks (orcomputer kiosks or interactive kiosks), self-assist checkout terminals,vending machines, gas pumps, websites of banks (e.g., issuer banks oracquirer banks of credit cards), bank statements (e.g., credit cardstatements), websites of the transaction handler (103), websites ofmerchants, checkout websites or web pages for online purchases, etc.

In one embodiment, the point of interaction (107) may be the same as thetransaction terminal (105), such as a point of sale (POS) terminal, anautomated teller machine (ATM), a mobile phone, a computer of the userfor an online transaction, etc. In one embodiment, the point ofinteraction (107) may be co-located with, or near, the transactionterminal (105) (e.g., a video monitor or display, a digital sign), orproduced by the transaction terminal (e.g., a receipt produced by thetransaction terminal (105)). In one embodiment, the point of interaction(107) may be separate from and not co-located with the transactionterminal (105), such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, apersonal computer of the user, a voice mail box of the user, an emailinbox of the user, a digital sign, etc.

For example, the advertisements can be presented on a portion of mediafor a transaction with the customer, which portion might otherwise beunused and thus referred to as a “white space” herein. A white space canbe on a printed matter (e.g., a receipt printed for the transaction, ora printed credit card statement), on a video display (e.g., a displaymonitor of a POS terminal for a retail transaction, an ATM for cashwithdrawal or money transfer, a personal computer of the customer foronline purchases), or on an audio channel (e.g., an interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system for a transaction over a telephonic device).

In one embodiment, the white space is part of a media channel availableto present a message from the transaction handler (103) in connectionwith the processing of a transaction of the user (101). In oneembodiment, the white space is in a media channel that is used to reportinformation about a transaction of the user (101), such as anauthorization status, a confirmation message, a verification message, auser interface to verify a password for the online use of the accountinformation (142), a monthly statement, an alert or a report, or a webpage provided by the portal (143) to access a loyalty program associatedwith the consumer account (146) or a registration program.

In other embodiments, the advertisements can also be presented via othermedia channels which may not involve a transaction processed by thetransaction handler (103). For example, the advertisements can bepresented on publications or announcements (e.g., newspapers, magazines,books, directories, radio broadcasts, television, digital signage, etc.,which may be in an electronic form, or in a printed or painted form).The advertisements may be presented on paper, on websites, onbillboards, on digital signs, or on audio portals.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) purchases the rights touse the media channels from the owner or operators of the media channelsand uses the media channels as advertisement spaces. For example, whitespaces at a point of interaction (e.g., 107) with customers fortransactions processed by the transaction handler (103) can be used todeliver advertisements relevant to the customers conducting thetransactions; and the advertisement can be selected based at least inpart on the intelligence information derived from the accumulatedtransaction data (109) and/or the context at the point of interaction(107) and/or the transaction terminal (105).

In general, a point of interaction (e.g., 107) may or may not be capableof receiving inputs from the customers, and may or may not co-locatedwith a transaction terminal (e.g., 105) that initiates the transactions.The white spaces for presenting the advertisement on the point ofinteraction (107) may be on a portion of a geographical display space(e.g., on a screen), or on a temporal space (e.g., in an audio stream).

In one embodiment, the point of interaction (107) may be used toprimarily to access services not provided by the transaction handler(103), such as services provided by a search engine, a social networkingwebsite, an online marketplace, a blog, a news site, a televisionprogram provider, a radio station, a satellite, a publisher, etc.

In one embodiment, a consumer device is used as the point of interaction(107), which may be a non-portable consumer device or a portablecomputing device. The consumer device is to provide media content to theuser (101) and may receive input from the user (101).

Examples of non-portable consumer devices include a computer terminal, atelevision set, a personal computer, a set-top box, or the like.Examples of portable consumer devices include a portable computer, acellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a securitycard, a wireless terminal, or the like. The consumer device may beimplemented as a data processing system as illustrated in FIG. 7, withmore or fewer components.

In one embodiment, the consumer device includes an accountidentification device (141). For example, a smart card used as anaccount identification device (141) is integrated with a mobile phone,or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

In one embodiment, the point of interaction (107) is integrated with atransaction terminal (105). For example, a self-service checkoutterminal includes a touch pad to interact with the user (101); and anATM machine includes a user interface subsystem to interact with theuser (101).

Hardware

In one embodiment, a computing apparatus is configured to include someof the components of systems illustrated in various figures, such as thetransaction handler (103), the profile generator (121), the mediacontroller (115), the portal (143), the profile selector (129), theadvertisement selector (133), the user tracker (113), the correlator,and their associated storage devices, such as the data warehouse (149).

In one embodiment, at least some of the components such as thetransaction handler (103), the transaction terminal (105), the point ofinteraction (107), the user tracker (113), the media controller (115),the correlator (117), the profile generator (121), the profile selector(129), the advertisement selector (133), the portal (143), the issuerprocessor (145), the acquirer processor (147), and the accountidentification device (141), can be implemented as a computer system,such as a data processing system (170) illustrated in FIG. 7. Some ofthe components may share hardware or be combined on a computer system.In one embodiment, a network of computers can be used to implement oneor more of the components.

Further, the data illustrated in the figures, such as transaction data(109), account data (111), transaction profiles (127), and advertisementdata (135), can be stored in storage devices of one or more computersaccessible to the corresponding components. For example, the transactiondata (109) can be stored in the data warehouse (149) that can beimplemented as a data processing system illustrated in FIG. 7, with moreor fewer components.

In one embodiment, the transaction handler (103) is a payment processingsystem, or a payment card processor, such as a card processor for creditcards, debit cards, etc.

FIG. 7 illustrates a data processing system according to one embodiment.While FIG. 7 illustrates various components of a computer system, it isnot intended to represent any particular architecture or manner ofinterconnecting the components. One embodiment may use other systemsthat have fewer or more components than those shown in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, the data processing system (170) includes an inter-connect(171) (e.g., bus and system core logic), which interconnects amicroprocessor(s) (173) and memory (167). The microprocessor (173) iscoupled to cache memory (179) in the example of FIG. 7.

In one embodiment, the inter-connect (171) interconnects themicroprocessor(s) (173) and the memory (167) together and alsointerconnects them to input/output (I/O) device(s) (175) via I/Ocontroller(s) (177). I/O devices (175) may include a display deviceand/or peripheral devices, such as mice, keyboards, modems, networkinterfaces, printers, scanners, video cameras and other devices known inthe art. In one embodiment, when the data processing system is a serversystem, some of the I/O devices (175), such as printers, scanners, mice,and/or keyboards, are optional.

In one embodiment, the inter-connect (171) includes one or more busesconnected to one another through various bridges, controllers and/oradapters. In one embodiment the I/O controllers (177) include a USB(Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, and/oran IEEE-1394 bus adapter for controlling IEEE-1394 peripherals.

In one embodiment, the memory (167) includes one or more of: ROM (ReadOnly Memory), volatile RAM (Random Access Memory), and non-volatilememory, such as hard drive, flash memory, etc.

Volatile RAM is typically implemented as dynamic RAM (DRAM) whichrequires power continually in order to refresh or maintain the data inthe memory. Non-volatile memory is typically a magnetic hard drive, amagnetic optical drive, an optical drive (e.g., a DVD RAM), or othertype of memory system which maintains data even after power is removedfrom the system. The non-volatile memory may also be a random accessmemory.

The non-volatile memory can be a local device coupled directly to therest of the components in the data processing system. A non-volatilememory that is remote from the system, such as a network storage devicecoupled to the data processing system through a network interface suchas a modem or Ethernet interface, can also be used.

In this description, some functions and operations are described asbeing performed by or caused by software code to simplify description.However, such expressions are also used to specify that the functionsresult from execution of the code/instructions by a processor, such as amicroprocessor.

Alternatively, or in combination, the functions and operations asdescribed here can be implemented using special purpose circuitry, withor without software instructions, such as using Application-SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).Embodiments can be implemented using hardwired circuitry withoutsoftware instructions, or in combination with software instructions.Thus, the techniques are limited neither to any specific combination ofhardware circuitry and software, nor to any particular source for theinstructions executed by the data processing system.

While one embodiment can be implemented in fully functioning computersand computer systems, various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a computing product in a variety of forms and are capableof being applied regardless of the particular type of machine orcomputer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

At least some aspects disclosed can be embodied, at least in part, insoftware. That is, the techniques may be carried out in a computersystem or other data processing system in response to its processor,such as a microprocessor, executing sequences of instructions containedin a memory, such as ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatile memory, cache or aremote storage device.

Routines executed to implement the embodiments may be implemented aspart of an operating system or a specific application, component,program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as“computer programs.” The computer programs typically include one or moreinstructions set at various times in various memory and storage devicesin a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or moreprocessors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operationsnecessary to execute elements involving the various aspects.

A machine readable medium can be used to store software and data whichwhen executed by a data processing system causes the system to performvarious methods. The executable software and data may be stored invarious places including for example ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatilememory and/or cache. Portions of this software and/or data may be storedin any one of these storage devices. Further, the data and instructionscan be obtained from centralized servers or peer to peer networks.Different portions of the data and instructions can be obtained fromdifferent centralized servers and/or peer to peer networks at differenttimes and in different communication sessions or in a same communicationsession. The data and instructions can be obtained in entirety prior tothe execution of the applications. Alternatively, portions of the dataand instructions can be obtained dynamically, just in time, when neededfor execution. Thus, it is not required that the data and instructionsbe on a machine readable medium in entirety at a particular instance oftime.

Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited torecordable and non-recordable type media such as volatile andnon-volatile memory devices, read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), flash memory devices, floppy and other removable disks,magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media (e.g., Compact DiskRead-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), etc.), amongothers. The computer-readable media may store the instructions.

The instructions may also be embodied in digital and analogcommunication links for electrical, optical, acoustical or other formsof propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, etc. However, propagated signals, such as carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc. are not tangible machinereadable medium and are not configured to store instructions.

In general, a machine readable medium includes any mechanism thatprovides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a formaccessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network device, personaldigital assistant, manufacturing tool, any device with a set of one ormore processors, etc.).

In various embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in combinationwith software instructions to implement the techniques. Thus, thetechniques are neither limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software nor to any particular source for the instructionsexecuted by the data processing system.

Other Aspects

The description and drawings are illustrative and are not to beconstrued as limiting. The present disclosure is illustrative ofinventive features to enable a person skilled in the art to make and usethe techniques. Various features, as described herein, should be used incompliance with all current and future rules, laws and regulationsrelated to privacy, security, permission, consent, authorization, andothers. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding. However, in certain instances, well known or conventionaldetails are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description.References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure are notnecessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references meanat least one.

The use of headings herein is merely provided for ease of reference, andshall not be interpreted in any way to limit this disclosure or thefollowing claims.

Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,and are not necessarily all referring to separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by one embodiment and notby others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may berequirements for one embodiment but not other embodiments. Unlessexcluded by explicit description and/or apparent incompatibility, anycombination of various features described in this description is alsoincluded here. For example, the features described above in connectionwith “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” can be all optionallyincluded in one implementation, except where the dependency of certainfeatures on other features, as apparent from the description, may limitthe options of excluding selected features from the implementation, andincompatibility of certain features with other features, as apparentfrom the description, may limit the options of including selectedfeatures together in the implementation.

The disclosures of the above discussed patent documents are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

In the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evidentthat various modifications may be made thereto without departing fromthe broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: storing, in a computing apparatus, a stored value balance in association with a set of conditions which when satisfied allow a use of the stored value balance; storing, in the computing apparatus, an offer in association with a first account of a user and the stored value balance; determining, by the computing apparatus, whether the offer is applicable to a transaction identified by an authorization request from an acquirer processor, the authorization request identifying a first transaction amount; and in response to a determination that the offer is applicable to the transaction, determining a benefit amount of the offer; determining a second transaction amount by applying the benefit amount and at least a portion of the stored value balance to the first transaction amount; and communicating with an issuer processor of the first account for authorization of the second transaction amount that is reduced from the first transaction amount.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of conditions identifies a set of one or more predetermined merchants transactions with which the stored value balance is usable.
 3. The method of claim 1, comprising: storing a communication reference in association with the first account of the user; and transmitting a notification of a transaction amount reduction, reduced in accordance with the offer in the transaction, to the user at the communication reference associated with the first account of the user.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the notification is transmitted in parallel with the transmission of an authorization response for the authorization request received from the acquirer processor.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: communicating with an issuer processor of a stored value account for approval of applying the portion of the stored value balance to the transaction corresponding to the authorization request from the acquirer processor.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the stored value account corresponds to a prepaid card.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the computing apparatus includes a transaction handler of a payment processing network interconnecting issuer processors and acquirer processors; and the stored value account can be used at a transaction terminal without the transaction handler.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving, in the computing apparatus, a communication from an issuer processor of the stored value account to associate the stored value balance with the first account of the user, in response to a request from the user; and storing, in the computing apparatus, data representing the stored value balance in association with the first account of the user for redemption via the transaction handler.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein after the storing of the data representing the stored value balance in association with the first account of the user, the computing apparatus becomes a single master of a balance of the stored value account.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein after the storing of the data representing the stored value balance in association with the first account of the user, the stored value account is configured to report a zero balance when the stored value account is used at the transaction terminal without going through the transaction handler.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein after the storing of the data representing the stored value balance in association with the first account of the user, the stored value balance is usable at the transaction terminal without going through the transaction handler; and the issuer processor of the stored value account and the transaction handler are configured to communicate with each other to maintain balance information for the stored value account.
 12. A non-transitory computer-storage medium storing instructions configured to instruct a computing apparatus to at least: store, in the computing apparatus, an offer and a balance of a stored value account in association with a first account of a user, the offer identifies the stored value account; determine, by the computing apparatus, whether the offer is applicable to a transaction identified by an authorization request from an acquirer processor, the authorization request identifying a first transaction amount in the first account; and in response to a determination made during processing of the authorization request that the offer is determined to be applicable to the transaction, determine a benefit amount of the offer; determine a second transaction amount by applying the benefit amount and at least a portion of the stored value balance to the first transaction amount; and communicate with an issuer processor of the first account for authorization of the second transaction amount that is reduced from the first transaction amount.
 13. The non-transitory computer-storage medium of claim 12, wherein the offer is configured to require that the first transaction amount be larger than the balance of the stored value account.
 14. A computing apparatus having at least one processor and a memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to perform operations, the computing apparatus comprising: a transaction handler configured to process transactions in a payment processing network interconnecting issuer processors and acquirer processors, including an issuer processor of a stored value account and an issuer processor of a consumer account of a user; a data warehouse configured to store data associating a communication reference of the user, a balance of the stored value account, an offer to use the balance in a transaction with a merchant, and the consumer account; and a portal configured to communicate the offer to the user via the communication reference and communicate with the issuer processor of the stored value account to receive the balance of the stored value account and conditions under which the stored value account is usable; wherein the instructions are configured to instruct the computing apparatus to determine whether the offer is applicable to a transaction identified by an authorization request received by the transaction handler from an acquirer processor, the authorization request identifying a first transaction amount in the consumer account; and in response to a determination made during processing of the authorization request that the offer is applicable to the transaction, the transaction handler is configured via the instructions to determine a benefit amount of the offer; determine a second transaction amount by applying the benefit amount and at least a portion of the stored value balance to the first transaction amount; and communicate with the issuer processor of the consumer account for authorization of the second transaction amount that is reduced from the first transaction amount.
 15. The computing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the stored value account is limited to be used at a set of one or more predetermined merchants identified in merchant information received in the portal from the issuer processor.
 16. The computing apparatus of claim 15, wherein before the stored value account is associated with the consumer account, the stored value account is usable at a transaction terminal without going through the transaction handler; and after the stored value account is associated with the consumer account in the data warehouse, the issuer processor is configured to indicate that a balance of the stored value account is zero when the stored value account is used in a setting that does not involve the transaction handler.
 17. The computing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the balance of the stored value account is associated in the data warehouse with the consumer account in response to the user adding a stored value account in a digital wallet containing the consumer account.
 18. The computing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the benefit amount of the offer is funded by one of: the merchant; the issuer processor of the stored value account; the issuer processor of the consumer account; and the transaction handler.
 19. The computing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transaction handler is configured via the instructions to place a hold on the stored value balance when the issuer processor of the consumer account authorizes the second transaction amount in the consumer account.
 20. The computing apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transaction handler is configured via the instructions to communicate with the issuer processor of the stored value account for authorization of the portion of the stored value balance. 